A Simple Spectator
by pyrothemusical
Summary: No matter where you might go, you'll probably find her. Maybe in the shadows, maybe as a friend or an enemy. It doesn't matter though, because she'll always be watching. It's not out of curiosity, nor is it out of pity. It's just that, her role is to simply...spectate.
1. Prologue

**So, here I am again, starting something new again. Let's see if this will turn out good, huh? ...Probably not...**

 **Alright, jokes aside, this is a little idea I've been thinking of, and instead of killing my mind with my debate on whether or not I should write this down, I said, "Screw it.", and just went ahead with it.**

 **Btw, for those wondering what will happen to Something to FEAR about, I'll be taking a quick break from it. Need to refresh my head and rework the timeline.**

 **Hopefully this will be a good story. Maybe. Maybe not. But enough talk. I should probably start.**

 **So here...we...go.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

The enemy was right in front of her.

Quick, intelligent, and powerful, she felt as if she were fighting a copy of herself, similar to facing against your own reflection or shadow. It felt like every muscle in her body was going to pop, yet she pushed harder, ignoring the painful strain in her left arm. She would win this match: she felt the confidence flowing through her veins.

A jab at the left. She ducked out of the way of the incoming attack and threw a roundhouse kick as her counter. Much to her disappointment, her adversary managed to jump out of the way right before her kick could connect with their body.

Now a punch aimed at her stomach. She responded by intercepting the punch and flipped her opponent in an attempt to stun them. Not wasting time, she then brought her right leg up, now targeting the opponent's stomach.

Quickly recovering from the flip, her opponent did a backwards leap to separate the distance from each other and unintentionally dodged the kick. She raised her eyebrow in surprise; she did not expect her opponent to suddenly withdraw from their little exchange of blows. It looked like her opponent was paying attention to her fights.

She took a deep breath, regaining the energy she used in the attacks. Her eyes now flashed with such vigour and vitality: she was going to end this fight now.

For a split second, the two figures stared at each other, gazing at who they were facing against.

Then, they were gone.

Running at incredible speeds, the two met at a point where they clashed against one another. A flurry of punches, dodges, kicks, and blocks. Flashes of light flew everywhere. It was incredibly difficult to make out who was who, or more importantly, who was winning in the exchange of blows. Finally, after what seemed as an eternity of fighting, the two threw their last attacks. For her, it was a left punch. For her opponent, it was the opposite: a right punch.

This would determine who would win the fight. It would declare the winner. The victor. The last one standing. And just like in regular movies, everything seemed to slow down: their attacks slowly approaching their opponent, and it would only be a matter of time before the attack would connect and-

 **Bzzzzz.**

The sound of a timer going off echoed throughout the area. The two combatants froze at the sound, fists hovering midair in front of their opponent's face. Slowly, the fists pulled back, and the two figures merely stared at each other, almost as if it was a contest of sheer will power. Finally, her opponent fell to the ground, gasping for breath and waiting for the amount of pain her body would endure after the fight. She too relaxed, almost to the point of collapsing out of exhaustion, but still standing.

"Shall we call it a draw this time?" she asked, her strength slowly returning to her body.

Not looking up, her opponent grumbled back in her usual icy tone. "You had me cornered for most of the fight. I think it's pretty clear who would have won."

"It wasn't like this was a walk in the park for me either, Azure. You improved greatly from the last time we had a fight like this. You don't always be so hard on yourself, okay?"

A sigh was all that was emitted from Azure, the expression on her face describing her frustration. "I know. It's just that no matter how hard I try, I can never reach your level. At times, it almost seems impossible to even-"

Azure stopped when she felt her mentor wrapped her arms around her, embracing them in a hug. A stern look appeared on her mentor's face. "Stop. I know where you're going with this, and we've went through this already. I didn't choose you as my apprentice for no reason, and I certainly didn't decide to train you because the Operatives forced me to. I saw potential in you, and I followed that instinct to teach you everything I knew. Look at where you are now." Her mentor pulled back slightly to emphasize the sentence with her arms. "With your determination of overcoming any hardship, you are considered one of the most deadly warriors in the league. So that's enough with the pessimism. Am I clear?"

It took a few seconds to get an answer out of her apprentice, but Azure gradually nodded and separated from her mentor's arms. When she spoke again, there was a hint of gratitude in her voice. "...Thanks. For lifting my spirits, I mean,"

The mentor merely shrugged, the blank expression returning her face. "It's a mentor's job to make sure the student is ready to fight, both physically and emotionally. I'm simply doing what is needed to be done."

Silence quickly filled the area. Azure watched as her mentor also sat down beside her, head tucked down between her arms in a resting position. For a moment, they stayed like that, their bodies eventually regaining their energy. But that moment of tranquil silence was interrupted when the sound of another alarm went off, this one almost sounding as if someone was trying to contact them.

Sighing, her mentor pulled out the device out of her pocket and turned it on, reading the notification. Azure waited patiently for her mentor to finish, in which she did so in a couple of seconds.

"The Operatives request our presence. Immediately." She stood up and gestured for her apprentice to follow her. "Come. Let us not test their patience."

Azure nodded as both the mentor and the apprentice quietly left the battle area. It seemed like the Operatives had another mission prepared for them, and she always knew that the missions were a bad omen. A warning that something terrible would happen.

* * *

"We are here at your request." Both of them bowed out of respect.

Inside the room, it was pitch black. No light was visible. Everything was either covered by shadows or darkness.

"Thank you for coming at such short notice. We truly appreciate it." A monotone voice rang out, disrupting the silence. Then, the shadow of a figure was apparent, covered in what seemed to be a cloak.

"It's nice to see y'all again! How are you guys doing?" A cheerful voice was heard next, followed by the second appearance of another cloaked figure

"Tch. As if **we** would be glad to see you two together again..." This time, a dark tone came from the first speaker's right, and no appearance from the bearer of the voice was shown.

"Ignore what my comrade said." The first voice apologized, bowing its head to display its apology. "Now, I believe we should move onto business, correct?"

Azure nodded in agreement. "You have called us for another mission. What is it?"

The cheerful voice spoke out again, as if it had suddenly remembered the purpose of the calling. "Oh, right! Well, as you know of the current situation, we're running out of watchers to put out in the field, and apparently another...place is in trouble again! So, we kinda need your help to simply watch out for any trouble. Like I dunno, a giant monster or something? Ooh! Or maybe a huge army! Or I know! A massive war that would kill everyb-"

"What my comrade was trying to say," The dark voice interrupted the cheerful voice and almost sent daggers towards its direction. "Is that we're assigning you to another area in your sector. **And the rant was unnecessary**."

The monotone voice continued it from there before another argument would arise. "You will be simply instructed to watch over said location and make sure that anything that is not supposed to happen **will** **not** happen. Is that understood?"

The mentor nodded to show her understanding. "'Everything that happens in a world is meant to happen. There is no such thing as luck, nor is there anything known as a coincidence. From the moment that world is created, the events have already been pre written and recorded. They are waiting to be taken into action, and it is our role to assure that the balance of these events will not be disrupted.'" She recited the old saying that was taught to her apprentice, and to herself when she was an apprentice as well.

"Heh. I knew that you would be able to memorize our motto." A fourth voice, this time filled with pride, confidence, and admiration, could be heard. "Well, we'll be giving you the mission briefing and your transport in a few days, so I suggest you take the time to study the knowledge of this place and prepare yourselves. You two have a long journey to overcome!"

Azure bowed again. "We understand. May we receive these mission documents?"

A snap of the fingers, and said documents suddenly appeared in front of them out of thin air. But this was nothing new: the Operatives were able to pull these tricks with no effort required. As Azure bent down to collect said documents, her mentor bowed one last time in gratitude and respect. "If that concludes the meeting, my apprentice and I will depart to make preparations for the mission."

"Yeah, yeah. Permission granted." The dark voice grumbled, almost wondering why he was assigned to take care of lousy people like them. "Now scram already!"

"Understood, my lord. Until next time." Both of them made their way to the exit of the room. But just as they were prepared to leave, the final Operative's voice could be heard.

"Um...Th-there is something we should probably tell you two." It was different from the other four: quiet, scared, and almost childlike.

Her mentor turned around and looked towards the area the speaker was heard from. "And what is it, my lord?"

"U-um...W-well..." If she could see through the darkness, she swore she saw the last Operative shaking in fear now that everyone's attention was fixed on it. "... **He** was spotted again...Near the place you're headed to..."

Silence filled the room as she took the information in. Azure quickly stole a glance at her mentor's face, worried that the news would unsettle her. To her surprise, and to the Operatives' as well, she simply sighed.

"There is nothing to be worried about then. Many times we have fought in the past, and I was able to get the best of him. If he chooses to interfere, let him. After all..."

She brushed the hair out of her eyes, remembering all the fights she had with her enemy. He was a persistent one, she would give him that. And it would soon be his downfall.

" **It will lead to his death.** "


	2. Curtains Unraveled

**So...RWBY Vol 3's first episode was released...It was epic...I CANNOT WAIT FOR THE NEXT EPISODE!**

 **Okay, got that out of my system.**

 **Anyways, here's chapter 1 of A Simple Spectator. Hope you guys enjoy it. If you guys feel like there are problems in writing such as phrasing or OOC, don't hesitate to leave a review. They always help me when I'm writing these stories!**

 **Are we all ready? Okay!**

 **Here...we...go.**

* * *

 **Curtains Unraveled**

Ruby Rose didn't know how to feel right now.

It still felt like a dream. One minute, she was taking down baddies with her beloved partner, Crescent Rose. The next thing she knew, she was on a bullhead headed to Beacon Academy as one of the youngest students ever to enroll in the academy.

No words could describe how she was feeling now. The shock. The surprise. The excitement. The anxiety. These were only a few of the emotions that were waiting to burst out of her head.

And yet, there was still something bothering her. Was it the comment Professor Ozpin made about her eyes? Or the strange looks she had received the moment she stepped on the bullhead? Or the feeling of discomfort when they had finally left the docking bay, knowing there was no going back now?

She had absolutely no idea.

 _Maybe I should stop thinking about these things…_ Ruby thought as she looked around for her older sister in the crowd of people. _Otherwise, I'll have a massive headache before I even get to Beacon!_

Speaking of her older sister, it was strange that Ruby couldn't spot her out of the swarm of people. One would think that long, blonde hair would be easy to notice out of a crowd, but with the amount of people crowding the hallways and decks of the bullhead, it would be much more difficult than Ruby had thought it would be.

 _Just my luck too…_ Ruby grumbled to herself, a sigh of exasperation escaping her mouth. _First day at Beacon and I already lose my sister in the crowd! Well, hopefully I'll find her before we reach land and-_

A sudden blur of yellow and a crushing hug interrupted her thoughts. The next thing she knew, her sister was right in front of her, embracing her in a bone-crushing hug.

"Oh, I can't believe my baby sister is going to Beacon with me! This is the best day ever!" Yang smiled proudly at her sister before pulling her closer, tightening her grip on her.

 _Oxygen...escaping...Need...air..._ Ruby could barely make out these thoughts in her head, almost passing out from Yang's powerful hug. It was Yang, right? _Blonde hair, check. Ember Celica on her hands, check. Rather...apparent..._ She let that thought trail off. Yep, it was definitely her sister, alright. She realized that much at least.

She also realized that she was losing a large amount of air. Fast.

"P-please stop." Ruby managed to mutter out of desperation for air, to which Yang immediately released her sister from the bone-crushing hug, still with the proud smile on her face.

"But I'm so proud of you!" Her sister exclaimed, eyes flashing with admiration. A tired sigh escaped Ruby's mouth. Why did everyone have to make such a big deal out of it?

"Really Sis, it was nothing..." She tried to say, but Yang cut her off with a bewildered look.

"What do you mean 'it was nothing'!? It was incredible! Everyone at Beacon is going to think you're like, the bee's knees!" Ruby emitted another sigh. Her sister really didn't understand the situation she was in, did she?

"I don't want to be the 'bee's knees,' okay? I don't want to be any kind of knees!" Ruby waved her arms to emphasize the problem. "I just want to be a normal girl with normal knees who goes to a normal academy and-"

"Oof."

Both girls were surprised to hear a voice behind them and a thud on the ground before turning towards said voice. Laying on the ground was another person, apparently hit from Ruby's arm flailing.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Ruby nearly had a panic attack when she noticed what she did. "A-are you okay? I didn't hurt you too bad, did I?" She gestured a hand to help the stranger back up.

The stranger simply shook their head. "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern." He/She took Ruby's hand to pull themselves off the ground with relative ease.

Once Ruby got a better look at the victim of her arm flailing, a single question rose in her mind.

Was this person a girl or boy?

Their clothes didn't seem to spell out the answer: the person was wearing a simple, gray hoodie with dark-coloured pants. Sure, the person had attractive eyes and a soft, delicate voice, just like any regular girl would usually have. But there was something else that made this person seem...masculine. Perhaps it was the short, black hair accompanied with the rather,,,flat chest that the stranger had. What did Yang call them again? Basically non-existent?

Anyways, the point was that there was no clear evidence of what the stranger's gender was. And apparently, Yang had the same thought as well, because she blurted out loud the very same question Ruby had in her mind, "You a girl or a boy?"

Hearing what her older sister's question was, the scythe user's face immediately turned red in embarrassment and hushed Yang. "Yang, that was rude!"

The stranger shook their head. "It's alright. People seem to always confuse my gender anyway." When the stares coming from the two girls didn't leave, she added, "I'm a girl."

"O-oh!" The expression on Ruby's face displayed her surprise. "I-I'm sorry! It's just that...We had no idea...And we didn't want to be rude...And-"

"Like I said, I get that comment a lot." The stranger nodded her head in understanding. It seemed like it didn't bother her that much. "I understand your confusion."

An awkward silence filled the area after, only to be broken by Yang. "So, moving aside from the whole 'gender' topic, what's your name anyway?"

There was a bit of a pause before the stranger answered back.

"...Rei."

* * *

"Sooooo, Rei? I'm guessing that you're also a student Beacon too, huh?"

After they had introduced each other, they decided to hang out a bit as they waited for the bullship to arrive at Beacon Academy. So far, Ruby and Yang had discussed various topics, ranging from why they decided to attend Beacon to their respective weapons. Now, they were asking similar questions to Rei.

Rei nodded. "That is correct. My partner and I have both registered in hopes of becoming a huntress." She slightly frowned at the mention of her partner, her eyes quickly scanning the surrounding groups of people. "However, it seems like I can't find her amiss this crowd of people."

"Don't worry!" Ruby smiled in hopes of soothing the girl's worries. "I'm sure you'll be able to find each other once we reach Beacon Academy."

Rei nodded at the girl. "Thank you, Ruby. I hope you are right. Azure tends to be...a bit distant towards others when I am not with her."

Yang casted a suspicious look at the slight pause in Rei's voice. "Why? Is she just like little Ruby here? Shy and awkward with people?"

"Yang!" Ruby shot a glare at her older sister in which Yang playfully punched her in the shoulder, a smirk on her face.

"I'm kidding, Ruby. Relax, will ya?"

At this, Rei decided to pipe in. "Quite the opposite, actually. She tends to glare at people if they choose to approach her, almost as if they were threatening her life. One time, she even knocked someone out simply because they asked for directions."

Ruby and Yang's response was a stunned silence accompanied with shocked looks. Yang, the first to recover from the shock, stuttered, "W-Why would she do that!? Does she really not like talking to people!?"

Rei shook her head. "Once you get to know her, you'll understand why she chooses to act like this." Suddenly pulling out a pocket watch out of the pocket of her hoodie, she quickly added, "And that is why I need to continue my search for my partner. Who knows what may happen if I leave her unattended any longer..."

"...Maybe we should help you find her..." Yang muttered, deep concern in both her eyes and voice. "I suddenly feel very insecure on this bullhead."

Ruby's shaky voice was heard next. "S-same here."

To their surprise however, Rei shook her head. "Don't worry. Azure has not done anything life-threatening whenever I am gone, I can promise you that much." Checking her watch once more, Rei turned towards Ruby and Yang. "Well, it seems as though I should return to my search for Azure again. Thank you for your time, Ruby. Yang. It was certainly...an entertaining conversation."

And before any of them had the chance of replying back, Rei quickly headed towards the crowd and disappeared among the mob of people. There was another moment of silence before Yang spoke up again.

"Hmm..." She tilted her head as she stared at the direction Rei had left. "Strange girl, don't you think, Ruby?" When Yang didn't get a response, she turned towards her sister. "Ruby?"

Her sister remained silent, a blank look on her face. Concerned, Yang was about to ask what was wrong when Ruby suddenly cried out, "I didn't get to see her weapon! I should've asked when I had the chance!"

A questioning look came from Yang before she sighed in disbelief. "You really are a weapon-frantic, aren't ya, Sis?"

Ruby crossed her arms and turned her back towards her sister, hiding the pout on her face. "Hey! Weapon enthusiastic, thank you very much!"

* * *

However, unknown to Ruby and Yang's knowledge, Rei did not leave the area. In fact, she wasn't even looking for Azure.

As soon as she was out of the girls' sight, Rei immediately headed to the helm of the bullship, located at the very top. Not to her surprise, her partner was patiently waiting for her, gazing at the ongoing clouds while keeping an eye on the other passengers.

"So? How did your little conversation with our 'targets' went?" Azure stole a quick glance at her master, the usual ice, cold tone coming from her mouth.

In an instant, Rei stood right next to Azure, her gaze also set on the clouds now. "Quite interesting, actually. I was able to spend some time with them. We had an interesting chat, and I was even able to bring up the subject about your incident with the boy in-"

At the mention of the subject, Azure immediately turned away, her voice pleading for her master to stop talking. "Hey! That was only once, okay!?" She tried to hide it, but Rei could still see the faint blushes on her cheeks. "Don't know why you always have to bring it up when I'm gone..." She finished her sentence with a grumble and a glare directed at Rei.

Rei slightly chuckled at this. "You can't deny it is true, my apprentice."

"...I know." Azure admitted, her head dropping in acknowledgement.

A brief moment of silence. The pair continued to gaze at the clouds. It seemed like an eternity before Azure's voice was heard again.

"Alright. Jokes aside, any changes with our 'targets'? The last thing we need are changes to the balance..."

A sigh could be heard from her master, shortly followed by her faint voice. "Ruby and Yang seem to be the ordinary, excited, cheerful girls who are thrilled to enter Beacon Academy. Just like the files described them to be."

Azure's shoulders relaxed when she heard the news. "Good. The last thing we needed was extra work to fix." Another sigh. "I swear, the things we do to keep things in order..."

Rei nodded in agreement. "How were things from your side?"

Tapping her head to remember the events from the previous day, Azure recounted them. "Everything went out as planned. Ruby encountered Roman and his goons, took them out with ease, and met up Professor Ozpin and Glynda Goodwitch after their little battle with Cinder. After that, the interview went pretty well, considering we've seen worse. But...there was one thing that bothered me..."

Noticing the concern and hesitation in her apprentice's voice, Rei raised an eyebrow at this. "Oh? Pray tell what that might be, my apprentice?"

"...Cinder and Roman were expecting something like this to happen. There was an extra armful of goons with Roman that night, and Cinder seemed to have been waiting for Glynda to appear. So either this was pure coincidence..."

"Or someone already notified them of the upcoming danger." Rei quietly finished the sentence, subconsciously closing her left hand into a fist.

"...He's here, isn't he. Just like the operatives had warned us." Azure cautiously asked, eyes flashing with concern. The mention of **him** would always bring fear in her mind.

"Indeed..." Rei muttered while still gazing at the clouds. "It's faint...But I sense his presence..."

"...What do you propose we do? After all, he was..." Azure trailed off, now noticing the change in her master's demeanor.

It was rare to see emotions on her master's face. After all, one of the most crucial rules the league had created was to never openly reveal their emotions to others. The rule was drilled into their heads, constantly reminded until they were able to perfect it. However, few were able to as it was nearly impossible to remain emotionless for every single second in their life.

Rei was one of those few.

To an outsider, Rei would have the same expression on her face. No smile. No frown. Nothing.

But Azure had spent enough time with her master to be able to read her. And she knew that even though there was no change in her facial features, her eyes would often narrow whenever Rei was conflicted with a situation. Of course, this one was no exception, and Azure could only imagine what was going in her master's head.

"The mission still stands." Rei concluded, surprising her apprentice with the eerie calmness in her voice. "We will use all of our necessary power to make sure nothing is disturbed, that nothing unrecorded will happen. Like I said, if he chooses to interfere, he will face the extent of **my power**."

The venom in her voice at the end of her sentence was clear, and Azure dared not to question her master anymore for the remainder of the trip. Speaking of which, they remained like that for the rest of the trip. Watching the clouds, remaining silent, it almost seemed like they were stone statues. Motionless. Lifeless. Always watching.

Well, that silence would have lasted longer until they heard an announcement notifying them of their arrival at Beacon. Turning to her apprentice, Rei gestured to the exit. "It seems like we have arrived. Shall we?"

* * *

"Huh. So this is Beacon Academy."

As soon as they left the bullhead along with the other thousands of students, the pair immediately took notice of their surroundings. It seemed like the files were spot on with the mission location, because Beacon appeared exactly as the files described it to be. Marked with trees and flag-draped light-poles, filled with many impressive sights like the Beacon tower and the Beacon Academy statue, there was no question as to why many students wanted to enroll in the school. It truly was a sight to take in.

Speaking of which, Azure continued to inspect the area, clear interest in her voice. "I'll admit, it's more impressive than I thought it would be. The architecture appeals to my interests and the view here is quite breath-taking. Maybe this trip was worth it after all."

"Oh?" Rei threw a questioning glance at her apprentice. It was unlike her to speak such words. "You would be the last person I'd expect to enjoy a mission like this."

Azure ignored the comment. "But we're not here for a vacation, right?" Already knowing the answer, she scanned the area for any hostile movements that could potentially belong to their enemies.

Rei nodded, proud that Azure was already taking things seriously. "That's right. Starting now, we'll have to keep a close eye on our 'targets'. Let's just hope we're not too late before-"

Suddenly, the sound of an explosion rocked the area and shook the ground. The pair both turned towards the direction of the source of the noise, a trail of black smoke which could be seen in the distance.

The two stood in silence, taking time to absorb what just happened. It didn't take long before the pair quickly looked at each other, nodded simultaneously, and sprinted towards the trail of smoke. While running, Azure muttered to Rei in a deadpanned voice. "You really need to stop doing that."

* * *

Ruby was really not having a good day.

Sure, it was one thing for almost losing her sister on the bullhead. It was another when Yang, her own sister, ditched her for her friends, not bothering to tell her where they were supposed to go. The final straw was when she accidently fell on a girl's luggage, which caused said girl to chew her out for her clumsy action, accidently sneezed when the dust was released, which triggered a dust explosion, and spilled all the dust everywhere.

Yep. She was having a fantastic day.

"Unbelievable! This is exactly the kind of thing I was talking about!" The white-haired girl's shouting jolted Ruby back to reality as she shot her an annoyed look.

Not wanting to annoy the girl anymore, Ruby tried to apologize. "I...I'm s-sorry..."

Apparently, the apology wasn't enough to lift the girl's sour mood. She opened her mouth to chew Ruby out, only to be interrupted by another person's voice.

"Is everyone okay?"

The addition of another person's voice made both Ruby and the white-haired girl to turn around. Walking towards them were two girls, to which Ruby recognised as Rei and, what was presumed to be, her partner.

Rei was still wearing her usual gray hoodie, but her partner was a different story in appearance. A sleek uniform, both top and bottom parts pale white, covered her entire body, accompanied with dark, red gloves on her hands and what appeared to be a symbol on the person's uniform. Narrow eyes and long, green hair tied with red ribbons completed her physical appearance, and at her side was a steel suitcase, presumed to be the person's weapon.

"I heard the explosion. Are both of you unharmed from the blast?" Rei asked, a concerned expression on her face.

Weiss huffed and glared at Ruby. "By some miracle, yes!" Pointing a finger at her, the girl continued. "Because of this girl, we might have been critically injured, or worse, killed! Besides," Now, the girl took a step closer, a suspicious look mixed with her annoyed expression. "What are you even **doing** here? Aren't you a little young to be attending Beacon?"

Gulping, Ruby tried to quickly find an answer. Telling the truth was the ideal answer, but considering her age, it was likely that the girl would not believe her explanation. Of course, telling a lie would only make matters worse. It seemed as though nothing could be said to calm the girl's annoyance.

"Well, I-I..." Ruby tried once again to speak up.

"If I may," Rei interrupted once again, standing right next to her in a protective position. "Ruby here has been selected by Professor Ozpin himself to attend Beacon as a huntress in training. And I can assure you, it was no mistake. Please do not judge her of her age."

There was a moment of silence after Rei finished talking. Considering the look on her face, the white-haired girl was surprised by the given news, given what she said next.

"Pr-Professor Ozpin himself?!" There was a heavy amount of surprise in her voice as well. "B-but, she's only, what? Fifteen? Are you sure she-"

Rei gave a curt nod, the expression on her face filled with determination. "I know for a fact that she was selected to enroll in Beacon. I am 100% sure."

It took a moment for the girl to digest the news. When she finally spoke, her voice was quavering. "I-I see. Erm, if you excuse me..."

With that said, the girl wandered off, leaving the group behind. It was quiet before Azure commented on the past discussion.

"Wierd. But could have gone weirder, to be honest." Really, it could have, taking into account of what the escalation could have resulted in.

Rei simply hummed in agreement. Now that she thought about it, things could have gotten ugly. Real fast. They were lucky they had broken up the argument before the pair would start bickering like crazy. "Yes, it was. Now, onto more important matters..."

Turning towards Ruby, who instantly backed away, Rei asked, "Ruby, are you alright?"

Ruby blinked at the question, not realizing the concern in Rei's voice. "Y-yeah. I guess so."

A nod was what she received. "Good. Now, would you please explain why-"

Rei trailed off, her eyes now looking at something that wasn't Ruby. When Ruby directed her eyes to the object Rei was looking at, Rei sighed. "Oh dear."

It seemed as though in the midst of the arguing, the white-haired girl had accidently left a piece of luggage behind. A white suitcase sat in the middle of the now empty path. Luckily, it wasn't damaged, or worse, had its contents stolen.

"It seems as if she accidently left a bag of luggage behind. I should return that to her this instance."Rei picked up the suitcase, making sure it was locked and secure. The last thing she wanted was the heiress to lose her temper at her. "Azure, please accompany Ruby to the auditorium for the opening speech. I'll meet you two there." Seeing that there would be no trouble, Rei bowed to the others as she departed for her search for the heiress.

A sudden thought came up in Ruby's mind, and instantly the calm expression on Ruby's face turned into a pale, ghastly white colour. Before the girl could leave, Ruby quickly ran next to her and yelled, "W-Wait, Rei!"

Rei turned around at the mention of her name, eyebrow raised as she asked, "Yes, Ruby?"

"I-isn't that girl your partner?"

"Yes."

"Th-then isn't she the one who-"

"Yes."

"...Are you sure I'll be safe with-"

"Yes."

"Oh." That was all the answer she needed. She could breathe easily now. "Okay!"

"She can also hear you Ruby."

It took a second for Ruby to understand what Rei said, and all she could come up was, "Wait, wh-"

All that was left of Rei was a trail of dust and her figure disappearing down the main avenue. Ruby's jaw was left open in shock, before she felt a terrifying aura coming from behind her. Fearing for the worst, she slowly turned around, only to be greeted by a death glare sent from Azure.

"...Why does this always happen to me?" Ruby groaned as she hung her head. This day had to be the worst day of her life.

"You two new here as well?" A new voice spoke up, making Azure and Ruby to see who the speaker was. It belonged to a blonde boy, waving his hand as a greeting.

Ruby slowly nodded. "Yeah." For some reason, the person didn't seem like a total stranger. "Hey, you look kinda familiar..."

The boy threw a questioning look. "Really? Strange, considering this is the first time I've seen the two of you. Name's Jaune Arc, by the way."

"Ruby." Now she remembered how she knew this guy. "Oh, now I remember! Aren't you the guy that threw up on the ship?"

Azure internally groaned as she watched the pair beginning to bicker, the shenanigans already unfolding. _Why did you place me in such an awkward position, Rei?_

* * *

Frustration and confusion.

Those two emotions could summarize what was going on in Weiss's head. Frustration towards the clumsiness of the little girl. Confusion as to why on earth Professor Ozpin would accept someone like that. considering she nearly killed the two of them in that dust explosion.

"How could Ozpin just accept her in the academy?" Weiss's scowl deepened as she pondered on the question out loud. No matter how many times she looked at it, the logic didn't make sense. "She does realize that this is **Beacon** , one of the most prestigious huntsmen academies, right? And she thinks she can just waltz in and..."

"Ms. Schnee?" The soft voice snapped Weiss out of her muttering and turned her attention towards the source of the voice. It was one of the two girls, the one wearing the hoodie, who checked on Weiss and the clumsy girl after they had heard the explosion.

Almost instantly, Weiss discarded her annoyed scowl and produced a polite expression on her face. Besides, this person had taken the effort of making sure both of them were unharmed: there was no need for any conflict. At least, for now.

"Yes? Is there something you need?"

"You seem to have left a piece of your luggage behind." The stranger replied, gesturing to the suitcase in their hand. "I thought it would be for the best to return your belonging."

Weiss blinked at the unexpected answer, but nevertheless accepted the luggage from the stranger. "I-thank you for taking your time in returning this to me."

"Your gratitude is unnecessary. It was my pleasure to serve the heiress of the Schnee Company." The stranger bowed in an act of politeness. "Though you should take better care of your belongings next time. Valuables can be easily stolen when left unguarded."

"...I'll keep that in mind." Weiss eyed the person with a strange look. Normally, people would never be this polite, even those she met in the higher classes. "I'm sorry, but I don't think you've given me your name."

"...Rei. Again, a pleasure to meet you." The now named "Rei" gestured a hand for a handshake.

"...Weiss." She returned the gesture, again with a questioning glance directed towards Rei. This person truly was a strange one. Polite, but strange.

Very quickly, a brief period of silence was exchanged between the two. From Rei's perspective, it seemed as though Weiss wished to ask the girl something, but was hesitant to do so. After a few seconds of this charade, Rei spoke up.

"Well, I believe that is all I have to tell you. If you would be so kind, I must meet with my partner at the auditorium for the opening speech. It was a pleasure speaking with you, Weiss." She finished with another bow and prepared to leave, intent on finding Azure once more. God knows how the poor girl would be faring with both Ruby, and possibly, Jaune at her side.

"Um, e-excuse me!"

It was now Weiss's voice which stopped Rei from heading back. Casting a confused look, Rei turned towards Weiss and asked, "Yes, Weiss?"

"W-well…" Again, Weiss hesitated to speak up, to which Rei motioned for the heiress to continue. "...Why did Professor Ozpin accept that girl into Beacon?"

"...You're comparing yourself with Ruby, aren't you?"

Weiss's initial reaction was to deny the girl's question. "Wh-what?! No, of course not!" When the questioning look didn't lift, she added weakly. "...Maybe a bit."

Internally, Rei sighed, both in discomfort and out of fatigue. She knew that what she said from here on would affect the relationship Weiss would have with Ruby in the future, potentially shattering the bond between the two huntresses. Careful thinking was required here, and Rei had no intention of fixing anymore mistakes.

"I don't know what Professor Ozpin's motives are, nor do I wish to spend time trying to understand what they are." Rei slowly said, gaining a questioning look from Weiss. "From what I gather, our headmaster works in mysterious ways. I could list dozens of theories as to why Ozpin enlisted Ruby, and I can assure you none of them would be correct. Besides, it would be unwise to only focus on the unknown and not concentrate on the present, Weiss."

It took a moment for Weiss to process what Rei had said, and another moment to accept it. In short Rei did not know the reason why Ozpin chose this girl, and had no intention of focusing on the matter of hand. "Y-yes. I see what you mean..."Bowing her head, Weiss added, "I'm sorry I bothered you with such meaningless questions..."

"But if you want my opinion," The sudden sign of Rei talking swiftly brought Weiss's head back up. "I believe the reason why Professor Ozpin accept Ruby was because he saw potential in her." Rei paused, then stared straight in Weiss's eyes."Just like he saw potential in you as well."

"...Me?" This time, the strong, cold voice was gone, and what replaced it was a voice filled in awe and uncertainty. How could this person say this and not know anything about her?

Rei nodded and continued. "Heiress of the Schnee Dust Company, yet wishes to follow a different path. Sheltered from danger by those around her, but whose will is as strong as fire. Confident in her abilities, yet acknowledges the weaknesses and strives to become stronger." She paused again, giving Weiss the time to process what was heard. She added, "You should not sell yourself short, Weiss. You truly deserve your spot here, just like your peers."

Shocked, Weiss stood rigid, her mouth trying to put words together. She had only met this person five minutes ago, and they already knew what kind of person she was. Not only that, but Rei knew who she was, understood why she was here, and even acknowledged the difficulties she had gone through during her life.

Again, this was all done in around five minutes.

"I..." Weiss tried to say something, to express how she felt when she heard those compliments. But her dry mouth could not make out complete sentences: the shock was too much for her.

"I'm merely stating the truth. Besides, Weiss?"

Closing her mouth, Weiss regained her attention, this time seeing Rei walking away, only to turn around to say something.

"It seems like this was bothering you quite a bit. I hoped it had lifted the burden from your shoulders, even if it was only by a little."

With that said, Rei quietly walked away and headed towards the auditorium, leaving a stunned Weiss to recollect her disorganized thoughts. _How much of that burden has been lifted, I do not know._ Rei thought, the auditorium now in her sight.

* * *

Not to her surprise, the auditorium was packed full with all the new students, either chatting aimlessly amongst each other or waiting patiently for what was to come. Regardless, it was definitely noisy inside the auditorium and Rei could only imagine the strain it was causing Azure's hearing.

 _Reminder: purchase earmuffs for Azure._ Rei told herself as she scanned the rows of students. It didn't take long before she finally found her apprentice at the exit of the auditorium, separated from Ruby and Jaune, whom she presumed had left to get better spots.

"I'm back, Azure." In an instance, Rei was right next to Azure, who winced at her master's voice. Cupping her ears together, she released one and brought a finger to her lips, hinting that she wished for quiet.

Rei nodded and quietly asked, "Let me guess: earache?"

Azure nodded in response and cupped her ears tighter as the surrounding students' chatter became much louder. Rei sighed, mentally cursing to herself of her own mistake. "I should have told you that those two would talk a lot, considering how sensitive your hearing can be. And I should have warned you how loud it would be in here. Sorry about not telling you in advance."

A simple nod of the head and the expression on her face indicated that Azure understood.

"Huh. Ozpin's speech is about to begin."

Ozpin cleared his throat. "I'll...keep this brief. You have traveled here today in search of knowledge, to hone your craft and acquire new skills, and when you have finished, you plan to dedicate your life to the protection of the people." There was an excited murmur amongst the sea of students, to which Ozpin continued. "But I look amongst you, and all I see is wasted energy, in need of purpose, direction. You assume knowledge will free you of this, but your time at this school will prove that knowledge can only carry you so far. It is up to you to take the first step."

It was almost ironic how the excited murmurs instantly turned into whispers of fear and confusion when Ozpin finished his speech and stepped off the stage. Shortly after, Glynda Goodwitch spoke up, gaining every single student's attention.

"You will gather in the ballroom tonight; tomorrow, your initiation begins. Be ready. You are dismissed." With that said, the sound of thousands of feet stampeding on the ground with students murmuring amongst each other quickly filled the auditorium as they prepared to leave for the ballroom.

Well, all except two.

Azure quickly casted a worried look at her master, who looked as though she was deep in thought. "Rei, will he be-"

"Yes. An obstacle which will stand in our path of completing the mission."

"...What do you suggest we do?"

Indeed, what was to be done? No doubt would Ozpin be curious of what they were doing at Beacon, especially if he caught wind of their actions. The files specified that the headmaster of Beacon would interfere with their mission, either by accident or under some...helpful influence. Whatever the cause would be, it did not matter: they had to make sure it did not happen.

"The mission still stands." Rei finally said. It was their duty, after all, to complete the mission. Failure was not tolerated by the operatives. "We will make sure he will not interfere with the will move swiftly as the shadows, remain quiet like the dark night. It is essential Ozpin does not know the real reason why we are here."

The dark expression returned to Azure's face. "Agreed."

The pair exited the auditorium.

* * *

Time really did seem to fly by quickly.

It was already nighttime, the ballroom jammed full with all the new students. Some were talking quietly with each other, some were wandering about, and some were already getting ready to go to sleep.

No doubt, Rei and Azure joined them in their preparations of going to sleep. The short-haired girl was still wearing her gray hoodie, but beneath it was her usual sleeping gear. To her side, Azure was tying her hair back, deciding to wear an emerald green nightgown tonight.

Sighing, Rei looked out of the window, gazing upon the light the moon was emitting. All in all, today was a success. Nothing dangerous had occurred, and all of the 'targets' had arrived safely at Beacon.

Still, there was something unsettling about what just had happened today.

 _Why does something feel off though?_ Rei pondered while staring off in the distance, deep in thought. Many times other students gave her strange looks, but chose to ignore her. _Today went perfectly fine, exactly how the files described it to be. Ruby enrolled in Beacon, met Weiss after their little 'incident', and met Bl-_

A jolt went through her spine as she stood up, standing rigid in shock and frustration. How did she not see the problem before? She must have not been focusing on the mission if she were to let a mistake like **that** to almost pass.

"Azure."

Hearing her name being called and the concern in her master's voice, her apprentice asked, "Yes?"

Rei simply pointed at Ruby and Yang, then at Blake. It took a second before Azure fully understood what the problem was.

"...Shit."

* * *

Meanwhile, Ruby and Yang were having a complete different discussion. One about making friends.

"Look, it's only been one day. Trust me; you've got friends all around you! You just haven't met them yet!" Yang tried to cheer her sister up, only to be met with a groan emitted from Ruby.

This was the first problem Yang was worried about when she caught news of her sister's transfer to Beacon. No matter how skilled, how strong she was, there would be a time when she would need to depend on others. To do that, she would have to learn how to not become socially awkward with others, and things were looking pretty bad so far.

Yang opened her mouth, intent of giving her sister more encouragement. Instead, another person's voice piped in. "Good evening, Ruby. Yang."

They turned around, revealing Rei and Azure walking towards the two of them. Rei had the same, calm look on her face while Azure portrayed the usual, cold stare at the two of them.

"Rei! Azure!" The depressed expression on Ruby's face quickly changed to a look of joy. "Where were you guys?! You disappeared after Ozpin's speech!"

Rei waved her hand as a sign of greeting. "We simply wandered around the academy. I thought it would be nice to at least get a look around before tomorrow's initiation."

A light bulb seemed to go off in Yang's head, sparking a small, sly grin on her face. "Oh! Speaking of which, you guys have any idea what this initiation supposed to be? Apparently, rumor has it that-"

"Nope." Rei gave a quick shake, emphasizing the word with a click of her tongue.

"No clue." Azure dismissed the question, acting as if it was useless information that needed to be answered..

Their reactions to the question, generally surprised Ruby and Yang. Sure, it made sense that not many people would have any idea what the initiation would be. But the way they said it almost made it seem as if they knew the details already, just not letting others know about it yet.

Before things got out of hand, Rei quickly changed the topic. If they knew she and Azure had already known about the initiation, their suspicion would only arise. And suspicion would no doubt attract Ozpin. "Moving along, you were talking about getting to know people, right Ruby?"

Ruby's eyes widened in surprise. No one else was with them when she and her sister were discussing the topic. "How did you-"

Rei waved her hand, not wanting to trail off from the main point. "Not important." It actually was, but Ruby didn't need to know why. Or more importantly, how. "But what is important is trying to make friends. Yang has a point, Ruby. You can't always isolate yourself from others. Being a huntress means helping and forming bonds with others. If you choose to only depend on yourself, you'll end up hurting yourself."

Even though she wanted to go against everything Rei said, Ruby knew she was right. "I-I guess you have a point." Ruby admitted, rubbing her arm awkwardly. "Still. I really don't know anyone here..." She finished the sentence with a groan.

Displaying a false expression of deep thought, Rei internally smirked at the situation at hand. This was the perfect opportunity to introduce the others to Blake Belladonna. "That can be solved quite quickly." Pointing to the quiet, bow wearing girl in the corner, Rei asked, "Do you recognise that girl, Ruby?"

The confusion was apparent on Ruby's face. "Not really. I think she saw what happened this morning, but I'm not really sure."

"Then all you need is a little push." Everything was now set. All she needed was a little influence. "Yang? If you would."

It took a second for Yang to understand where Rei was going at, but no sooner was the confused look replaced with a sly grin and a twinkle in her eyes. "No problem." Yang pulled her sister to her side, grabbing her attention. "Hey Ruby! Now's your chance!"

Wide eyed, Ruby soon found herself being dragged to the bow wearing girl, frantically crying out. "Wait! What are you doing?!" Behind her, Rei and Azure quietly followed the pair.

Eyes out of her book, Blake raised an eyebrow at the scene before her. Two girls, one with darkish, red hair, the other with bright, blonde hair, were bickering amongst each other. The other two girls, the black and the green-haired one, were silently watching the antics enfold. It wasn't until Blake coughed that the two stopped arguing amongst each other and turned towards her.

"Hel-looooo! Nice evening, don't you think?" Yang was the one to speak out, waving her hand as a means of greeting.

There was a short pause. "Yes, almost as lovely as this book. Which I will continue to read. As soon as you leave." Perhaps it was a bit rude of her to act so coldly, taking in account of the bewildered looks on the red-haired and blonde-haired girl's face, but Blake wanted so desperately to finish this chapter.

"Ninjas of Love?" Blake froze at the mention of the book's title, raising her eyes out of her book once more to look at Rei, her expression one of understanding.

Surprised, Ruby asked, "You know the book, Rei? What kinda book is it?" The title seemed pretty interesting, and she was always eager to read more novels in her spare time.

Blake, on the other hand, was horrified that someone else other than her knew what book she was reading. More importantly, what the book was mainly focused on. "Y-you recognise the series?"

Considering Ruby's question, Rei pondered on her options. What would be the best method to explain this to her?

"...How old are you, Ruby?" Rei finally asked, the calm expression still remaining on her face. This would be quite...embarrassing if Ruby were to hear what it was about.

A questioning look was all she got until Ruby answered, "15. Why?" Unknownst to her, everyone else got the message and turned away, either producing a faint blush or trying their hardest not to laugh.

Yep. Definitely did not want to corrupt her innocent mind. At least, not yet.

"Yang, cover her ears. You help too, Azure."

Ruby started to protest, but Yang and Azure immediately acted on instinct and covered her ears, already knowing where this was going. Blake on the other hand, had a horrified look on her face as Rei sat down. _She's not really going to, is she?_

"Alright, let's start from the beginning, shall we?"

* * *

"...And that's the basic idea of it." Rei concluded, hoping she didn't mix her facts with another series she was thinking about. It certainly had been a long time since she had last read Ninjas of Love.

"Uhhhhhhh..."

What stood in front of her were 3 blushing teenagers, their eyes and jaws wide open, and one very confused Ruby.

...It seemed as though she recounted it accurately enough...Whether it was a good thing or a bad thing...would be decided on them.

"W-was it really necessary to mention all of that?! Especially n the public?!" Blake exclaimed, her face as red as a tomato. Now that Rei thought about it, perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to explain what the novel was about, considering the amount of looks she was receiving.

"It is a good novel. The idea of a man with two souls, each fighting for control over his body, is quite intriguing...It isn't something a reader can come upon very often, much less an author can write about."

There was another moment of silence. Blake was the first to regain her composure, stating in a shaky voice, "I-I see."

Relieved with how the situation turned out, Rei turned to the confused Ruby and asked, "Ruby, what do you think of-"

"What in the world is going on over here?! Don't you realize some of us are trying to sleep?" A shrill voice echoed through the auditorium, and Weiss stormed towards them, the usual annoyed expression on her face.

One look at Weiss and a scowl instantly appeared on Yang's face. Whatever happened between the two of them when Rei was absent, it was definitely unpleasant. "Oh, not you again!"

This conversation would become more heated with every second that passed. To make sure that would not happen, Rei decided to interfere and stop the pointless bickering. Besides, they would need the rest for tomorrow's initiation. Especially if they were to make sure nothing would go wrong tomorrow.

"Ms. Schnee is right. We are all exhausted from our trips, especially those who had travelled a long distance. It would be wise to call it a night for now. The rest will be essential for tomorrow's initiation."

Taking the opportunity to stop anymore arguing, Ruby eagerly added, "Rei's right, you guys!" She pulled her sister aside, almost dragging her to their sleeping bags. "Come on, Yang. Let's go to sleep."

Yang gave one last glare at Weiss, whom returned said glare back, and muttered, "Sometimes, I have no idea how bad your luck is, Ruby."

"Yang, she can still hear you!" Ruby warned as they quickly left the others.

Weiss, on the other hand, shot one last glare at the pair before returning to her own sleeping bag. Only when she passed Rei did she stop and give a court nod in her direction. In return, Rei returned the gesture with a formal bow, to which Weiss produced the smallest smile and headed towards the back of the ballroom.

As for Blake, the faunus in hiding sighed, disappointed that she wasn't able to finish her book. Grabbing her candle and telling the others goodnight, she blew the candle's flame out with a quick breath and quickly went to sleep. It wasn't long until every student did the same, and the room was quickly encased in darkness, the only sounds coming from the snores of the students.

Quietly, Rei and Azure moved to their own resting place, located near the balcony of the room. They quickly settled down, still listening to the tranquil silence which filled the room.

Not before long, exhaustion was catching up to the two of them, though Azure was the only one to show this through a yawn. "Azure, we should also get some rest as well." Rei recommended, pulling out the large blanket they regularly used during missions.

Azure frowned, intent on not showing any weakness of her fatigue. "I'm fine. Besides, what if-"

"Even in sleep, I'll keep my guard up. You have no reason to fear him, for I will be there to protect you."

When her master put it that way, Azure knew there was no method of convincing her master otherwise. She took half of the blanket and covered herself in it, her eyelids already drooping. A quick "Night." was heard from her before she too, fell in a deep slumber.

"Until morning, my little apprentice." Rei quietly answered back, watching the sleeping form of her partner.

Soon, the only person awake was Rei. It was nice, having no one interfering with her line of concentration and distracting her from her deep thinking.

"...The setting has been decided. The characters are in play. The plot has begun its movement. All I have to do now...is wait for you to make the first move."

A deep exhale, then a pair of eyes flashed in the darkness.

" **Let the game begin...** "


	3. Dreams and Names

**Wow...it's...almost been a month since I last updated this story...Hooray for "weekly" uploads...Sigh.**

 **Anyways, here's chapter 2. Not much to say, except there may be a couple...references to other animes...Maybe. Maybe not.**

 **So, we all good? Okay!**

 **And here...we...go.**

* * *

 **Dreams and Names**

 _ **Where was she now?**_

 _ **Fog covered the entire area. She couldn't see, nor could she tell where she was. For now, the area was a mystery to her. Perhaps a place she did not remember from her past trips?**_

 _ **She pressed on. The area became less dense with fog with every step she took.**_

 _ **It was until a certain point her vision returned to her. She took a second to absorb what was in front of her.**_

 _ **6 teenagers. 3 boys and 3 girls, all dressed in different coloured hoodies, chatting aimlessly to each other. They looked like they were having fun, smiles wide as they could be, cheerful laughter coming from the group.**_

 _ **Those smiles and the sounds of laughter quickly died down when they caught sight of her. At first, it looked like they were confused, as if wondering why she was watching them. But she knew who they were, even recognised them by their appearances. Why were they so surprised to see her? Was she a stranger to them?**_

 _ **They still treated her out of respect. At least, the boy with the black hoodie did. He was the first to brush off his friends' concerns and approach her, flashing a wide grin in her direction. He greeted her, and she did the same.**_

 _ **...Why was she smiling? It was unlike her to show emotions.**_

 _ **Regardless, the boy didn't pay attention and turned his back to her. It seemed as though he was telling the others that there was nothing wrong. That she was harmless.**_

 _ **...Why was there a gun in her hand?**_

 _ **...Why was there the intent of killing someone?**_

 _ **...Why was there this obligation to fulfill this role?**_

 _ **...It didn't matter. Nothing did, after all.**_

 _ **Ten bullets. Enough to finish the mission.**_

 _ **A simple clink. The barrel of the gun pointed at the boy's head. She fired.**_

 _ **One shot was all it took. The boy with the black hoodie fell, a gaping bloody hole in the back of his head. Hysteria broke loose in the group. Screams echoed. The girl with the purple hoodie rushed to his side, tears already forming as she called for the boy's name. The one with the green hoodie rushed at Rei, thinking he could stop her slaughter.**_

 _ **Pointless. Futile.**_

 _ **This time, it took two shots to finish off the one with the green hoodie. One in the stomach, the other in the mouth. He too became a bloody mess on the ground.**_

 _ **Purple hoodie was the next to go down, a bullet entering her forehead. It didn't take long before her body lied right next to the black hoodie, soaked in a bloody puddle. It was truly a shame: she would have been an interesting person to talk with.**_

 _ **The boy with the red hoodie rushed to defend the others, but Rei was too quick. Instantly, she was right next to him, emptying another bullet in his heart. His blood splattered against her face. It tasted sour.**_

 _ **On the ground, there was a scream of horror and cries for the boy to get back up. Looking down, Rei saw a cellphone with the picture of a girl wearing a blue hoodie and headphones, crying in horror at the slaughter that happened before her.**_

 _ **Fool.**_

 _ **It didn't take long before the phone met the bottom of her foot, crushing it in an instant. Weak gasps were heard under the sole of her foot, until all that was left was the sound of static.**_

 _ **There were only two left of the group: one girl wearing the orange hoodie, the other girl wearing a white dress. Only one of them was needed to be alive.**_

 _ **The orange hoodie was desperately trying to protect the younger girl from the shot, but it was pointless when Rei fired a bullet at her. Just like the rest of her friends, she fell on the cold ground. There were tears streaming from the now cold, lifeless eyes. Tears that would soon be mixed with her blood.**_

 _ **Now, there was only one left.**_

 _ **Emptying all the gun's bullets until one bullet remained, Rei pointed it at the last survivor, waiting for "it" to happen. Meanwhile, the girl in the white dress was frozen in shock, looking at the bodies of her now dead friends. Rei could only imagine how many times the girl tried convincing herself this was simply a dream. A false illusion.**_

 _ **There were a few seconds of total silence. Rei counted to five.**_

 _ **She pulled the trigger.**_

 _ **Then, "it" happened.**_

 _ **A whirl of wind engulfed the area. A shrill scream pierced her ears. Tremors shook the earth, lightning echoed in the background. Rei had to turn away, blown away by the sudden amount of force.**_

 _ **She turned back when she regained her ground. Her eyes met red, narrow eyes. The eyes of a snake. The bearer of the eyes whispered something.**_

 _ **Suddenly, nothing.**_

 _ **No blood. No bodies. Nothing that showed there was a massacre here. Peace and quiet. The signs of the cycle.**_

 _ **She completed her mission for now. It was time to head back.**_

 _ **Rei started walking, then stopped. Her cheeks felt wet.**_

 _ **Strange. It was supposed to be sunny today.**_

* * *

Slowly, Rei opened her eyes, the weak rays of the sun creeping into her vision. Where was she again?

The answer instantly came to her. Beacon Academy, Vale, Remnant. Completing another one of her missions with Azure. Masquerading said mission as a desire to become a huntress.

A quick look of her surroundings confirmed this. The sleeping forms of the students, the pitch darkness inside the ballroom, Azure's presence right next to hers. Given the evidence, it seemed like it was very early in the morning. Perhaps around 5:30 am?

But that wasn't important. What **was** important was the fact that another one of her dreams surfaced again.

Unconsciously, Rei tightened her left hand into a fist. Again, she let this happen. Another one of those damn dreams, always surfacing from her memories and taunting her as if they were the spirits of those she had slain.

...No one was to hear of this. This weakness. Something to exposure her. Something that would lead to her downfall. She would make sure of that.

One minute passed. Then another. Then another.

...Right now, her mind was too preoccupied to go back to sleep. Maybe a bit of music would help?

...But surely, it would disturb the others here, wouldn't it?

...Looks like she didn't have a choice. As silent as a mouse, Rei grabbed her music player out of her bag, pulled her hoodie on, and slipped through the doors of the ballroom.

* * *

Glynda Goodwitch really hated Mondays.

She never knew why, actually. Maybe because it was the start of a week? Or because she had to prepare the lessons she would give to her students? Or perhaps the fact that the initiation was **today** and she had to organize every single thing?

...Definitely the last point.

Holding back a yawn, Glynda tried her best to keep her eyes open as she slowly headed towards Ozpin's office. The two had agreed to meet there, their intention of discussing minor details of the initiation, before they would head to the location where the initiation would take place.

She could make out the faint outlines of the stairs that lead to Ozpin's office, and a breath of relief escaped her mouth. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, she would reach her destination…

That was what she thought she would be saying were it not for the sound of someone singing on the balcony to her right. That only meant one thing: someone, most likely a student, was awake. Meaning she would have to take care of it.

Glynda inwardly sighed, already exhausted from thinking what was needed to be done. Of course, this hadn't been the first time a situation like this had arisen. Many students had to be forcefully sent to the ballroom after they were caught...sneaking around at night. _Honestly, the things I have to take care of as a professor at Beacon…_ She thought as she headed towards the door of the balcony, ready to chew out on the culprit behind the singing.

When she got to the doors, the sight before her was quite ...interesting.

Standing alone on the balcony was a girl wearing a hoodie, whom Glynda presumed to be a student. Wearing earphones under her hood, the girl was dancing around the area, walking around in a small circle while quietly mumbling what was presumed to be the lyrics of the song she was listening to. To Glynda's surprise however, it seemed as though the girl was engrossed by the music as she had not noticed Glynda approaching her. Only when she got close enough was Glynda able to hear her quiet mumbles.

"...You are the spark, my light in the dark,

Brilliant and bold through the night.

Bright as the sun no matter what comes,

We can be stars if we shine..."

...It was a wonderful melody. It truly was. She would have been captivated by the singing had she not remembered her duty as a professor.

Clearing her throat in an attempt to gain the student's attention, Glynda spoke in a stern voice, "Excuse me, but students should be sleeping right-"

She didn't expect the sudden jump the student gave. She also didn't expect the student to suddenly pull out their weapon at her.

A flurry of movements revealed the student to have their weapon pointed at Glynda, hoodie down to reveal the cold glare directed at Glynda. If she hadn't known better, Glynda would have thought this student was prepared to kill her.

It took a few seconds for the student to realize what she was doing. It also took a few seconds for the student to lower her weapon.

"...I'm sorry. I suspected you to be a hostile person." Sheathing her weapon, she took a deep bow, an act of apology. "It was unwise of me to act like that."

A few deep breaths helped her to control Glynda's breathing and regain her composure. Luckily, she spoke with the same stern voice she had previously used beforehand. "Well, I can at least tell you have the qualifications of being a huntress. Acting on instinct is something we do look for in our students. But I'm getting off track here."

Pushing her glasses slightly upwards, Glynda's eyes narrowed. "Again, I'll ask you. What are you doing here on the balcony? Especially this early?" The fact that the very same student that snuck out had tried to kill her made her very suspicious of their actions.

"...I had trouble sleeping." The student slowly looked at the sky, now illuminated by the rays of the rising sun. "The scenery here helps me calm down. It allow my worries to disappear."

There was a slight pause until Glynda's voice could be heard again. "...I see. That is...understandable." It was true. Many times there would be students, pressured from the upcoming initiation, looking outside, relying on the scenery to help them calm down. A moment of awkward silence passed before Glynda decided to speak out. "I do not want to be the bearer of bad news, but I must force you to return to the ballroom until further notices request the students' presences. We enforce this rule only because we do not wish any students to **accidently** know the details of today's initiation. I hope you do understand."

A nod confirmed her understanding. "I will follow the rules. Besides," A shrug came from the student, surprising Glynda. ."I had a feeling I would have to leave this place soon."

"Very well. Do try to get some rest before your initiation starts." Glynda started to head back inside, but turned around when a sudden thought came up. "I'm sorry, but what was your name?"

"...Rei Noire. A pleasure meeting you, Ms. Goodwitch."

Silently, Rei passed Glynda and headed towards the ballroom. Had she paid closer attention, she would have noticed that Glynda did not move from her original spot. Or more importantly, the frozen expression of fear on Glynda's face.

 _...What is this?_ The single question arose from her head. She hadn't felt this in a long time.

Rei didn't radiate happiness, or sadness, or even anger. In fact, it was like she was an inanimate object, devoid of any emotions.

There was something else though. Something that was hidden amongst her personality. Something Glynda had felt the moment Rei turned around.

The killing intent of a murderer.

* * *

"Are you feeling alright, Azure?"

It was now morning, sunlight peering through the white clouds. Right after they had breakfast, the pair had left the cafeteria and headed towards the initiation, weapons and gear in hand. Only a few steps towards their destination and Rei could tell she was not the only one who had trouble sleeping yesterday.

A yawn could be heard from her apprentice. "Felt better, but I'll survive." Azure paused again to let out another yawn. "Apparently, sleep did not seem to like me this morning..."

"Perhaps you're pushing yourself too much again?" asked Rei, concern in her voice. It wasn't unusual for Azure to push herself beyond her limits. After all, she always did commit all her energy in her work. "You've been constantly begging me to spar with you these few days. I'm worried that you might not be-"

" **I'm fine**."

There was a change in the atmosphere. Although invisible to others, Rei could see the shift in the air's tension the moment Azure spoke. She could also see the change in her eyes, and of course, hear the change of tone in her voice.

Rei remained silent as Azure stared at her with cold, wide eyes before speaking softly, "Very well. I trust you will take care of your body." Rei put her hand on her apprentice's shoulder, and the atmosphere changed back. "But know that your health not only affects your actions, but the mission as well. I can't spend time worrying over you."

A couple of deep breaths from Azure notified Rei everything was now okay. "Don't worry about me," Rei answered confidently, shrugging Rei's hand in the process. "I can manage myself. Besides," Her sentence trailed off as she glared around her, as if searching for something.

"...I have a feeling we might have bigger things to worry about in this initiation."

At this, Rei raised an eyebrow in curiosity. "Oh? Do tell what these feelings are, my apprentice."

A few seconds passed before Azure shook her head. Perhaps she had just imagined it? "...Just a nagging feeling I can't get off my shoulders. Like someone's staring at us, watching our every moves-"

"Whhhhhaaaaat's up, you two?!" The sudden sound of another's voice snapped them both back to reality. Their instincts kicking in, the pair dashed away from the speaker to separate the distance between them. Only until they had full concentration did they notice who was there: a very energetic Yang and a somewhat hesitant Ruby.

"Wh-How long have you been standing there?!" Azure exclaimed in her usual cold voice, questions beginning to burst out of her head. How did she not notice the two of them there?!

"Only for a few seconds-Why? Something secret going on between you two?" It was amazing at how quickly the expression on Yang's face changed. One second, it was a look of surprise. The next, there was a hint of slyness on her face.

Deciding it was best to ignore the question, Rei answered, "Good morning, Yang." She bowed in greeting, to which there was a slight flicker in Yang's smile, but kept the positive expression on her face. "I suspect Ruby is right behind you?"

Yang knew there would be no way to get the answers she wanted out of Rei now, so she decided to follow Rei's lead in shifting the topic of the conversation elsewhere. "Yep!" Turning behind and grabbing her sister by the hood, she exclaimed, "Come on, Ruby! Stop gawking at your weapon and start greeting your friends!"

There was a bit struggle before the younger of the two was in plain sight. "Ack-Yang! That really hurts my neck, you know!" Ruby shot an annoyed glare at Yang, currently turned away from her sister and whistling an innocent tune.

A sigh could be heard from Ruby. Why was her sister so annoying sometimes? And here she thought she was the immature one here! "Anyways, hey you two! You guys get a good night's rest?" Her question directed at the pair, Ruby was confused to see the two of them look at each other, then awkwardly turned away.

"It was...interesting, to say the least. Luckily, no nightmares for me." Rei commented, already scowling at herself for the hesitation in her voice. She had no intention of letting anyone what had happened this morning.

Azure appeared to have the same attention, for her voice retained the same cold tone. "Same here."

Ruby frowned at the change of atmosphere when the two spoke up. Her sister on the other hand, did not show any notice of the change. "Nice! You guys should be all prepped up for the initiation!" The sly look returned to Yang's face. "Speaking of which, you guys still haven't told us your thoughts about-"

"So Ruby," Deciding to change the subject of their conversation, Rei asked out of the blue, "Have you decided who you would like to partner up with for the teams?" She ignored Yang's pouty face, not falling for anymore of her tricks.

Ruby blinked at the question, then sighed. "Not really. I'm thinking I might have to fly solo on this one." Her shoulders slumped down even further at the mention of teams.

Yang frowned, having noticed where her sister was leading this conversation to. "Ruby, how many times have we gone through this? If you wanna grow up, you're gonna have to meet new people and learn to work together. It's the only way!"

Now, Ruby was considered a cheerful, positive person. But the mention of her height would always strike a nerve. "I already told you! I! Drink! Milk!" Her eyes flashed with the intent of making her point clear.

However, none of them would be able to continue their argument because a certain someone was laughing at their little conversation. And that someone turned out to be Azure.

"...Why is she laughing?" Ruby finally asked after what seemed to be an eternity of awkward silence. Rei herself was curious as to why her apprentice was suddenly laughing: it was unusual for her to find something amusing.

Azure had to wipe tears from her eyes before chuckling softly. "S-sorry. You just reminded me of another person I knew. Hated milk, and was about the size of a paperclip. Only grew about a millimeter every year."

Rei frowned at the mention of this person, already knowing who Azure was talking about. "Don't you think you're exaggerating it a bit? He wasn't that short."

"You can't deny it wasn't true."

"...You make a fair point." A sigh indicated her defeat in the argument. Rei then turned towards Ruby, still confused of who they were talking about. "Ruby, you're going to be spending your next 4 years at Beacon training to be a huntress, right?"

Startled, it took a few seconds for Ruby to respond. "Yeah..."

"Then you do realize that what you will be facing in the future may be too much for you to handle alone?"

"I-I guess so..." Ruby almost shrank down at the empty gaze Rei gave her. Why did it scare her so much anyways? It was just a look, right?

"...What I'm trying to get at is don't be hesitant to reach out to other people. You may be socially awkward at times," At the mention of her flaw, Ruby pouted, but Rei still continued. "But there are people who will accept that part of you. You just have to give them the chance, otherwise they'll never know who you truly are."

Ruby considered Rei's advice. It was true, wasn't it? That she constantly pushed people aside because she would always be afraid to open up to others. Maybe she should follow Rei's advice. Maybe...it wasn't too late to change.

"...I'll give it some thought." Ruby admitted, earning a nod from Rei. That nod quickly turned to a look of confusion when Ruby started jumping up and down, sparkles in her eyes. "Anyways, can I see your weapon? Pretty please with a cherry on top? I promise I'll be careful with it!"

Yang, who watched the little exchange between the two with interest, understood what her sister's intentions were. When she got the confused look from Rei, Yang let out an awkward chuckle. "See, Ruby here's kind of a weapon frantic, so she's always excited when she sees other people's weapons. When she remembered she forgot to ask you yesterday, she couldn't stop going on and on about your weapon all morning." A pause, then an embarrassed look from Yang. "So, could you quickly show her so we can get this over with?"

"I see no issue with it." Rei pulled out her weapon and gave it to Ruby. "Here you go."

"Yayyyyy!" A quick blur and a second later revealed Ruby to be admiring the weapon's beauty. "So shiny..."

True to her remark, Rei's weapons were nothing to scoff at. Dual swords with their blades glistening in the sunlight, they appeared to be well cared for. In the middle of the swords' hilts revealed two gems: the left containing a round piece of obsidian, the other a ruby, the colour of blood.

While Ruby was busy looking at the weapon, the others stood patiently for her to finish admiring Rei's weapon. Yang could only give an apologetic look to Rei, showing how sorry she was in dragging Rei into this mess. The hoodie girl simply shook her head: she wasn't bothered by this at all.

"So dual wielding swords, huh?: Yang decided to start a conversation going, considering how long it would take Ruby to finish inspecting Rei's weapon. "Pretty interesting actually. I always found dual wielding weapons to be difficult to master since the wielder depends too much on their weapons and leave themselves wide open. Not to mention that they usually don't have the strength to defend themselves from heavy blows."

Rei nodded in understanding. She too noticed that there was a flaw with her weapon, a common flaw shared amongst dual wielding weapons. However, with the resources at her hand, it wasn't hard to fix the problem. "That would be true in most cases, but I've managed to overcome this problem." She turned towards Ruby, still glossing over Rei's weapon, and asked, "Ruby, if you would be so kind..."

Jumping at the sudden question, Ruby quickly nodded. "Oh! S-sorry! I didn't mean to look at your weapon for that long!" She handed Rei's weapon with shaky hands. "H-here you go."

"It's alright." Rei reassured the younger girl, not wanting to upset Ruby in any way. "Now, to answer your question Yang..."

In a quick gesture, Rei attached the two swords together by the end of their hilts, gears being turned and attached together heard inside. No sooner than a few seconds, a new weapon appeared in Rei's hands. What came from the attachment of her swords was a double-bladed swords, the blades of the swords resembling the points of a spear.

"In this form, I'm able to strike my foes with ease, either with two handed attacks or a single, strong, one handed blow. In addition, it increases the weapon's reach and overall defence capabilities, allowing me to take both an offensive and defensive approach at my free will."

"WWWooowww..." Amazement expressed on Ruby's face, it was obvious she was blown away by the complex mechanism. "That's so cool!"

Yang nodded in agreement. There was no doubt Rei had put time and effort into thinking of a way to remove her weapon's weakness. "Gotta admit, pretty interesting way to cover that weakness." Suddenly, a mischief look appeared on her face as she joked, "You're quite the intelligent one, aren't ya?"

Luckily, Rei didn't catch the teasing in Yang's voice, and simply shook her head in disagreement. "I like to think myself as the...curious type. After all," Her eyes appeared to be lost for a moment there. "This weapon has saved my life more times than I could remember."

"Pretty reliable weapon, then! What's it's name?" Yang asked curiously, to which Rei froze at the innocent question. How long had it been since she had mentioned the weapon's name only for others to back away in fear?

"...Equitable Judgement." The murmur of the weapon's name escaped Rei's lips, barely heard by the other two girls. Judging by the tone of her voice, one would assume something grim was behind the naming of the weapon's name.

A moment of brief silence passed as the two sisters took time to comprehend what Rei had just said. "...Yang, what does 'equitable' mean?" Ruby asked Yang, evident curiosity in her voice.

"I'm as lost as you are sis."Yang admitted, a look of confusion on her face. The word "equitable" was a stranger to her as well.

"Judgement does not take sides." Both girls jumped at the sound of Azure's voice, still cold and dark. It made things creepier when Azure's eyes were looking straight at them. "It is unbiased, unprejudiced. It will always stand between the forces of good and evil, light and dark. Right in the middle of the two sides. And no matter how you try to persuade it, judgement will always be fair, waiting to deliver itself upon its next victim."

Silence followed Azure's explanation. She coughed as she added, "...That's what 'equitable' means, anyways..."

"...Really?" Yang's small voice could be heard, almost hesitant to even speak up. "That's...interesting."

Ruby on the other hand, was looking at Rei with a concerned look on her face. "...Do you really believe in that kinda stuff, Rei?" It was almost scary as to how accurate and descriptive the meaning behind the weapon's name was.

"...The initiation is just ahead. We should hurry."

True to her words, they could make out the figures of Professor Ozpin, Goodwitch, and the other students. Silently, the four of them quickly hurried for their initiation, no intention of being late.

 _If only they knew..._ Rei thought, her gaze set on Equitable Judgement itself. _That not everything is what they seem...I would probably fit under that category, wouldn't I?_


	4. The First Signal

**Well...you might be wondering where I've been all this time, huh?**

 **...Sigh.**

 **Long story short: school, redo of chapter, school, sick, trip, school.**

 **Good news though! Now that it's the winter break, I'll have more time to write! So hopefully, expect more chapters soon!**

 **Not much to say right now, so let's get this started!**

 **And here...we...go.**

* * *

 **The First Signal**

"For years, you have trained to become warriors. Today, your abilities will be evaluated in the Emerald Forest."

Ozpin's voice rang throughout the area, giving precise instructions to those who would be participating in the initiation. The atmosphere was tense: after all, it was a matter of who would be qualified to enter Beacon Academy. Weapons were drawn, intentions focused on passing the initiation, and eyes narrowed as they listened intently to Ozpin's voice.

Well...all except one student.

 _...Better keep a close eye on the future members of team RWBY. Possibly team JNPR as well. Who knows what kind of trouble they might get themselves into…_ These were only a couple of thoughts that ran through Rei's mind. Not bothering to pay attention to Ozpin's explanation of the initiation, due to the files already providing the answers, she instead formed a plan of what she would be doing to ensure everything was set. After all, a collapse in the chain of events could only spell out despair, and she had no intention of doing so.

"Ms. Noire? It's your turn now."

Her name called, Rei returned to reality and regained her attention. Apparently, the other students had already left and it was her turn now. Given by the annoyed glare she was receiving, Rei inferred that Ms. Goodwitch had been calling her name a couple of times. The tone in her voice certainly gave it away.

She shook her head once. It was not the best idea to be distracted by her thoughts at the moment. She had to focus on the mission. "I apologize. I seemed to have spaced out for a bit." She bowed, emphasising her apology.

Glynda simply sighed, not wanting to deal with anymore trouble on the first day. "I take it you need a repeat of our instructions?" She asked, her hands already reaching for her scroll.

To Glynda's surprise, Rei shook her head. "I have a clear understanding of this initiation. You need not to worry." A slight pause, then she spoke again. "I do have one question though. Partners are formed through eye contact, right?"

"That is correct. The moment you make eye contact with someone who is not already partnered with someone, the two of you are automatically part-What are you doing?"

Glynda could only stare as Rei suddenly pulled out a piece of white cloth and fumbled with it in her hands. It seemed as though she wanted to tie it around her head, particularly to cover her eyes, but failed to do so.

"Countless years of fixing wounds and I still can't tie a simple blindfold around my head…" Rei muttered under her breath. It truly was beginning to become a pain. "Azure, if you would be so kind to-"

"Yeah, yeah. I got it." Azure grumbled as she stood behind Rei and started tying the blindfold. "The things you make me do sometimes..." She finished her sentence with a pull on the knot of the blindfold.

In all her years of teaching, Glynda could not believe what she was seeing. "Are you suggesting that you will enter the forest like that? Particularly a **Grimm infested** forest?" Glynda said stoically, as if not even believing the words coming out of her own mouth.

Rei shrugged. "I work best with my senses removed."

"...Very well. Please step on the tile to begin your initiation." In the end, Glynda could still not understand the enigma that was Rei Noire.

Rei nodded and followed Glynda's instructions. Stepping onto the launch pad, she positioned herself as she waited to be launched into the Emerald Forest.

 _Hopefully, there will be no mistakes this time…_

* * *

 _Maybe Azure has a point...I really need to stop saying things like that…_

5 minutes after her landing, Rei found herself sitting against the trunk of a tree, still yawning from her drowsiness. Blindfold still own and weapons at her side, she did her best to conceal her presence.

Well, she at least hoped nobody would notice the countless disintegrating Grimm bodies around her. Most were sliced into little chunks, the unlucky ones decapitated.

"Grimm really do seem to be attracted to me..." She mused at the thought. Grimm were known to sense negative feelings, particularly anger and fear. And yet she did not display nor felt any of these feelings. How were they able to find her so quickly?

"This will require further investigation. It is too strange to be left alone."

A sudden rustling in the bushes to her side alerted Rei that she was not alone. Quickly pointing her weapon towards the direction of the sudden movement, Rei asked in a calm voice,

"Is someone there?"

* * *

Okay. So she may have killed a little birdee on the way down, but it was still relatively a good landing, right?

And after what seemed like an eternity, she would eventually find someone in this maze of trees, right?

…

Ruby groaned in despair, tempted to bash her head against one of the trees. Apparently, nothing was going her way. So far, she couldn't find anyone to be her partner yet, and that worried her. After all, the talk she had with Rei made her realize there would be 4 very difficult years ahead of her if she remained alone. Thus, it would be best to try to find someone and work with them before things were too-

"Ruby? Is that you?"

The sudden inclusion of another's voice interrupted her thoughts. Turning around, a smile replaced her frown as she saw Rei approaching her, clearly steering through the maze of trees and branches.

"Thank god! I thought I would never be able to find someone in this stupid forest!" Ruby cheerfully said, waving Crescent Rose to emphasise her point.

"You wouldn't believe what happened!" Her excited yelling continued, and Rei respectfully listened to her, not wanting to rudely interrupt her. "First, I flew into a bird, which I'm pretty sure was a Grimm. Then, I sliced through so many trees that I lost count! And then-"

A single detail on Rei stopped Ruby from continuing, earning a confused frown on Rei's face. "Why do you have that on?" Ruby asked curiously, tilting her head slightly as her gaze was set upon Rei's blindfold.

"I assume you are talking about the blindfold?" The silence she received made her assume Ruby had nodded. "I work best when my senses are removed. Thus, I purposely remove my vision to bring out the maximum potential my skills offer." When Rei could only hear the wind blowing through the trees, she quickly added, "I don't know why, but it's just like that for some reason."

"Uh...Okay?" Ruby displayed a sheepish look on her face, not quite understanding what Rei meant by that. "S-so, I guess we're partners, right?" She asked out of the blue, wanting to steer away from their past awkward conversation. "But that's going to be so much fun! With my Crescent Rose and your Equitable Judgement, we'll be able to fight baddies and Grimm easily! We can name our team something cool, like team Slicers!" She paused quickly, thinking over what she just said. "Actually, that sounds really dumb...But I know we're gonna be the best of-"

"Ruby, we can't be partners."

"...Huh?" The smile on Ruby's face slowly faded, and a confused look quickly took its place.

"Wh-what do you mean?" Even though she was blinded, Rei could practically envision the tears welling up in Ruby's eyes. "I-I thought the first person we've met eye contact with would-"

"And you have answered your own question, Ruby." Rei calmly answered, not wanting to upset the girl anymore. "Think over your words carefully again."

",,.No way." Ruby murmured, finally realizing what Rei was trying to get at. The answer was so simple, so obvious. How did she not spot it before?

Rei nodded, aware that Ruby knew the answer. "The blindfold is blocking my vision. While you may have laid your eyes on me, I have not. Our eyes have not met each other's. Thus by the initiation rules, we cannot be partners." With that said, she turned around and prepared to leave, in hopes of finding Azure or the other future members of team RWBY.

...Correction: she would have if it were not for a certain voice calling out to her.

"B-but..."

Rei frowned at the slight tremor in Ruby's voice as she turned her head, confused as to why there was such an enormous amount of emotion behind her voice.

"...If I'm not partners with you...who is?" Ruby quietly asked, completely distraught by the fact that she had failed to find a partner when luck had presented one to her.

In Rei's mind however, she was mentally scowling herself. Did she really mess up again? Caused another incident that needed to be dealt with? These questions flowed throughout her mind, and it was really giving her a migraine.

Luckily for her, she heard a certain someone behind Ruby, and judging by their quiet cursing and muttering, it didn't take a genius to recognise who it was. All Rei could do at this point was to sarcastically laugh inside, disbelief towards how unusual her luck had been the past few hours.

"...I think you'll find your answer behind you." Rei simply stated, earning a confused look from Ruby.

"Wait, wh-"

A rustling sound behind her caught her attention. Turning towards the source of the noise, Ruby was met face to face with Weiss Schnee, their eyes instantly meeting each other's. For a moment, there was only silence.

Then, Ruby finally remembered who else was with them and abruptly turned around.

"Rei!"

But by then, it was already too late, for Rei had disappeared from the spot she had been standing. Actually, she had completely disappeared: Ruby couldn't find her anywhere.

"Where did she…" Ruby muttered, quickly looking around her. How could one person move so quickly?

A sudden noise behind her brought her back to reality and Ruby could only stare as Weiss quickly left the area, head held up high. It took a few seconds before Ruby realized what her partner just did.

"Wait! Where are you going?!" Her partner didn't reply, and Ruby hastily added, "Aren't we supposed to be teammates?!"

When she didn't receive an answer, all Ruby could do was to sigh and attempt to follow her partner as best as she could. Through all of this, a single question remained in her mind.

 _What is going on?_

* * *

She really didn't want to do that. To simply abandon Ruby like that. But the mission always came first, and it insisted that Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee were to become partners.

Wiping a trail of sweat of her forehead, Rei shook her head a few times and focused her attention in front of her. Overall, that was way too close for comfort. If she had accidently became Ruby's partner, if she had disrupted the chain of events, things would have turned sour from there. She could only thank whoever was controlling her luck for bringing Weiss to Ruby, else who knew what she would have done in order to stall time?

A beeping in her pocket alerted her that she had received a message from Azure. Pulling the device out, she quickly checked it and read Azure's message.

From what she had gathered, it appeared as though Yang Xiao Long and Blake Belladonna had become partner. The same had happened with Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos, but there was a little incident regarding a misdirection with the spear, something Rei knew Azure could easily fix.

Speaking of Azure, her apprentice was currently trailing after Ren Lien and Nora Valkyrie, closing her message with a note saying she would meet Rei where the relics would be in fifteen minutes.

Rei sighed. Whether it was out of relief or exasperation, she didn't know. "I wonder how Azure's handling the mission?"

* * *

"Weehee! This is so much fun!"

"Nora! Slow down!"

"But it feels like we're flying, Ren!" She exclaimed, jumping with glee. "Oh look, Rennie! A jump!"

"...Nora, please don't do what I think you're going to-"

"TOO LATE!"

Azure watched the two of them leaping off the cliff. On an Ursa. Plummeting to the ground at mach speed.

"...Why did I sign up for this again?" She groaned as she disappeared in a flash, intent of following the two opposites.

* * *

Meanwhile, as the events took place in the forest, two pairs of eyes were carefully observing said events enfold.

"It seems like another pair has been formed, sir." Glynda stated out loud. Then, she quickly added, "Nora Valkyrie and Lie Ren, that is."

Ozpin merely nodded at the fact and continued watching the live feed on his scroll, occasionally taking a sip out of his coffee mug. Glynda sighed: she accepted the fact that the headmaster would rarely talk during these tense situations.

A notification alerted her that another pair was formed. After quickly checking her scroll, she said, "Jaune Arc and Pyrrha Nikos have also became partners, sir." A thought popped up out of her mind, but she refrained herself of voicing said thought: there was something of more importance that required her attention.

Switching to another camera, her suspicions were confirmed. Rei and Azire had yet to find a partner, but both were silently following other pairs of students as they headed towards their objective. "Professor Ozpin?"

"Yes?"

"May I see the files on Miss Noire and her friend?"

A slight moment of pondering, then the files were handed to her. Glynda gave her thanks and briefly looked through them. What she read...left her baffled and confused.

According to recent documents, the pair had grown up in a remote village just amongst the borders of the kingdom, every day spent helping their home village out and defending it from the Grimm attacks. They were the heroes of their village, and everyone respected them. Nothing suspicious there.

The skepticism began when Glynda read the recounts of their disappearance and the destruction of their village.

Apparently, they had vanished out of thin air, almost like they never existed. Never seen again by their friends and family. Whether it was for the best or for the worst, she would never be able to tell.

Because a few days after their disappearance, their village was decimated by the Grimm. No survivors from the attack were reported to be spotted or heard from ever again. So it came to a surprise when the two survivors decided to suddenly show up for Beacon's entrance exam. And how they managed to obtain the highest mark for both the physical and intellectual components of the exam. Without any external help from the continent's academies.

 _It just doesn't make sense...Why would someone suddenly disappear, leave their village defenceless for the Grimm to strike, and choose to reappear only moments before Beacon Academy's entrance exam? And by the looks of their experience in combat and fighting, they're already on par with at least the 3rd year students here...Besides…_

Glynda recalled the morning's events with Rei, and a shiver went through her spine.

 _That feeling I got from Rei...It wasn't a coincidence, was it?_

Her curiosity finally catching up to her, she asked, "Sir? Why did you accept Miss Noire and her friend into Beacon?" When the professor did not reply, she looked up from the files. "Professor Ozpin?

Neglecting the mention of his name, Ozpin watched his scroll's screen with both curiosity and interest. The screen displayed two images: Rei, still wearing the blindfold, patiently waiting at the ruins where the relics were, and Azure, now just a blur on the screen, dashing towards her partner.

* * *

"Are we the last ones?"

"...Seems like it. Though I do wonder if the others will be able to make it back safely..."

"If the files are correct, everything should go perfectly well. At least, that's the best we can hope for in these kind of situations..."

"Tch. Fine."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"...Can you just remove that thing already?! It's driving me nuts! And besides, it's only us now, so there's no need to even keep that annoying thing on!"

"Ah. I completely forgot I had this one. Thank you for reminding me, Azure."

"Of course you did..."

"..."

"...Alright. It looks like no one else is coming. Should we hurry back?"

"That would be the best for now...Oh yeah. We were supposed to get one of these 'relics', right?"

"Ah. I knew I was forgetting something. Thank you for reminding me, Azure."

"Whatever."

"..."

"Well, ain't this ironic..."

"What do you mean, my apprentice?"

"Take a look for yourself."

"...Oh. How...comical."

Displayed on the last pedestal was the black queen.

* * *

They sat near the edge of the cliff, observing the fight below them. Team RWBY was currently fighting the Nevermore while team JNPR was taking care of the Death Stalker. So far things were progressing reasonably well: it didn't seem as though either team would lose.

"Seems like team JNPR managed to kill the Death Stalker." Azure mused over the thought. If one were to take consideration of Jaune's inexperience compared to the others, they would assume the battle would last longer. Perhaps she was proven wrong. "Interesting. I thought it would take longer, but apparently I was mistaken."

Rei hummed in agreement, her eyes never leaving the fights."They do show potential, but they are still learners in fighting. They will need time to improve their skills if they wish to survive their future years as hunters and huntresses." Azure rolled her eyes to Rei's comment. She knew the strength their targets currently had was pathetic compared to what was in store for them.

"On the other hand, team RWBY...is having a bit of trouble with that Nevermore." Rei turned her attention towards the other team and frowned, displeased with what she saw.

Casting a questioning glance, Azure simply groaned out of frustration. True to Rei's words, team RWBY was having slightly more difficulty with the Nevermore. "...Already their first battle and they're arguing amongst each other. Great."

And how could it be a good sign? The chain of events needed to follow a specific order, else there would be chaos. Destruction. Death.

"Indeed," Rei nodded, pondering over the thought. It was quite strange for team RWBY to already have problems amongst their team. "But I do wonder who is responsible for stirring up the arguments amongst the group."

"Five freaking bucks it's Weiss..." Azure muttered under her breath, something Rei caught on quite easily.

"Oh? Do you perhaps have something against Weiss, Azure?"

If Azure's stare could be any more colder, it would be able to freeze whoever it was looking at. "You know how I feel about these type of...What do you call them?" A few words were needed to find the correct word. "Tsunderes? Anyways, always acting so cold, pretending to be all high and superior. And yet they somehow still depend on others at the very end and never give their thanks. It makes me sick." She spat out her last sentence, venom dripping in her voice.

She was still confused as to why her apprentice would say such a thing, but decided to shrug her concern off. "I guess that's true," Rei answered in a faint voice. "But wouldn't that be describing yourself, Azure?"

Had Rei not have been Azure's master and friend, Azure was tempted in killing her right on the spot. " **Not. Another. Word.** " She spat each word out of her mouth, her glare never vanishing.

"Alright. I give. I give." Rei raised her hands up, a sign of surrender. Tuning her attention to the fight below, she watched as Ruby was projected towards the direction of the Nevermore's head. "Speaking of which, it seems like they're just about finished. That's go-"

At this particular moment, the ice around the Nevermore's tail shattered, freeing it from its prison. Regaining its mobility, the Nevermore easily dodged Ruby's attack and flapped its wings out of the way. There was a brief moment of silence amongst the pair.

"...Rei..." Azured slowly said in a cautious tone. Rei merely grimaced at the sight below them.

"...I really need to stop doing that, don't I?"

"It would be very appreciated, thank you very much!" Azure exclaimed as they both immediately got to work. No time could be wasted. The lives of team RWBY were in danger.

* * *

"Ruby, it's headed your way!" Yang alerted her younger sister as the Nevermore rapidly approached. Grimacing from the previous attack, Ruby hastily yelled back as she used her weapon's recoil to launch herself away from the Nevermore's flight path..

"Got it! I'll just-"

A shadow passed above her, and all Ruby could do was slowly look up, only to be greeted by the diving figure of the Nevermore. Yelping in surprise, she quickly grabbed her weapon and fired it, using the recoil again to project herself out of the Nevermore's flight path.

 _It wasn't this fast before! How did it suddenly-_

Her thoughts were interrupted when something hard collided into her, knocking the wind out of her. Ruby gasped for air and struggled to regain her momentum, but ultimately failed in doing so, causing her to plummet towards the abyss of the cliff. Opening her eyes in hopes of regaining her senses, all she could see was the Nevermore in front of her, its beak wide open to swallow her whole.

The realization of the mere fact sent a shiver down her spine. Ruby could hear the others, her sister specifically, calling out her name in horror as they all rushed to help her. But even though they were traveling as fast as they could, Ruby knew there was no way they would be able to reach her in time. Closing her eyes and letting gravity do its work, she accepted the truth.

This would be the place where she would die.

…

And yet, it wasn't...

* * *

"Azure..." Rei warned her apprentice as she prepared Equitable Judgement. Right now, the situation had turned from being somewhat bad to absolutely horrible.

"I've already stabilized Ruby. She should be unharmed from the Nevermore's attacks now." Azure assured Rei as she set the properties up. The difficult part of their plan was up now, and it was to immobilize the Nevermore until team RWBY had retrieved their future leader. "...Coordinates set. Target will be locked in 5 seconds."

Making the shape of a square with both of her hands, Azure concentrated as hard as she could. The image of the Nevermore constantly flashing in her head, she sent her "cage" out to trap the Nevermore. Her expectations were met when the Nevermore suddenly crashed into an invisible wall, cawing in pain as its head bashed into it. No intention of letting the Grimm go, she kept a close eye on the now trapped Grimm as she released Ruby out of her own little cage and into the safety of her friends.

"Keep the enemy in there for only a few seconds. I'm almost ready."

Azure nodded, her eyes narrowing in concentration. "Understood." Azure responded in a flat tone. It was not difficult to trap such a weak creature, and she did not want to disturb Rei.

 _The uses of dust have surpassed my expectations, that's for sure._ Rei hid a smirk as she finished the final preparations for her weapons. Slipping a metalic glove on her left hand, she finally gave the command. "You can release it, Azure."

Knowing there was no longer any need to keep the Nevermore confined, she dissolved the cage, letting the Nevermore escape. For a moment, the Nevermore flapped its wings frantically, the feeling of being able to move again returning to the Grimm. Then, it sped towards their direction, finally noticing their presence.

"...It is a shame for you to die this way." Rei mumbled in a quiet voice as the Neveremore approached them. It was always a nuisance to remove those who would interfere with the chain of events. "But fate does not show remorse for those that suffer in pain, for those that wail in agony. Fate simply follows the chain of events and delivers your judgement. Therefore,"

She jumped up, just high enough for her body to be at level with the Nevermore's beak, and drew her two blades. Enraged, the Nevermore stretched its beak wide open, failing to notice that her glove glowed a bright red.

"...I will do the same."

A single swing from Equitable Judgement was executed by Rei. That same swing tore a x-shaped fiery gash through the Nevermore's beak and face, turning its black, feathery body into one that burned the colour of bright red. Its life force leaving its body, the now dead Nevermore's body faltered and ended up crashing into the forest behind them. Returning to the ground, Rei sheathed her weapon and spoke in a solemn voice.

"Death will be visiting you soon. I made sure that your death was a painless one."

* * *

"What just...I don't even...Huh?"

These were some of the words that escaped Ruby's mouth, leaving her confused and bewildered. After she was reunited with the rest of her friends, they could only watch the fight between Rei and the Nevermore enfold.

Well, she couldn't really call it a fight. It only took Rei a few seconds to kill the Grimm without any difficulty, something none of them were able to accomplish. And judging by the other's looks, it appeared as if they were having the same thoughts.

Jaune was the next to speak up, his voice trembling in awe and shock. "I-I'm not the only one who saw that, right? Because, because, that was..."

Before he could finish his sentence, the ground began to shake, resulting with the part of the ground they were standing on being separated from the rest. At first, they thought said piece of ground would crumble off of the cliff, thus preparing to jump away. However, closer inspections revealed themselves to be surrounded by what seemed to be a glowing green box.

"Whoa! What's going on?!" Yang shouted as they were lifted high into the air. It took a few moments for them to realize that the box was traveling to where Rei and Azure were. Once they were near enough, Azure muttered something under her breath and the box evaporated, lightly dropping them on the ground.

"Are you all unharmed?" Rei asked once everyone was on their feet. She had to make sure that everyone was alright. "I hoped we made it just in time."

Still confused of what had just happened, Ruby asked, "B-But how did you-"

"Semblances and aura work in mysterious ways. But we should discuss this later." Rei quickly did a scan of the area. Although nothing seemed to be out of the ordinary, she would not risk the safety of her targets."This initiation is still not finished yet, so I would suggest we all hurry back to Beacon. After all, the goal is to safely return the relics back to Beacon."

Out of all of them, Nora was the one to display the most emotions. With a pout, she whined, "We're leaving already?! But I wanna see you do that cool psychic thingy again!"

"...Perhaps another time." Rei reassured the girl, not wanting to waste anymore time out in the open. "For now, let us-"

Of course, as soon as she was about to finish her sentence, it was interrupted by something else. And that something else oh so happened to be a loud growl, loud enough to be heard by all ten students.

Yang groaned in exasperation, already tired of what she knew would happen next. "You've got to be kidding me! More Grimm are coming?! Why are they-"

Her sentence was cut off when they heard Azure, a scowl on her face, yelling at Rei, "I told you to stop doing that!" A frustrated sigh escaped her mouth. "Seriously, the number of times you're bad luck is rubbing off on us is insane!"

In response to Azure's claim, Rei simply stroke her chin, her mind wandering through her own thoughts. "Luck does seem to have a grudge on me..." The sentence trailed off as Rei shook her head. Although she wanted to find an explanation of her bad luck, the safety of her targets was her priority. "We should probably hurry before anymore decide to turn up."

"Wait, we're just going to run away from the Grimm?!" Weiss interrupted, disbelief clearly heard in her voice. "We're hunters and huntresses! It is our duty to exterminate the Grimm and-"

"You eight were struggling against the first two, even with our help." Azure cut her off, not wanting to waste time with the girl. "What do you think would happen if all of you just rushed in blindly?"

Perhaps the tone Azure used gave away her views on the girl, but the scowl on Weiss's face deepend. "You believe we'll simply back down and run-"

"You did it before. What makes this situation any different from the last one?" This time, Azure didn't bother hiding the venom in her voice. As a result, Weiss took a step back, shocked of the change of tone in Azure's voice.

"Azure..." Though there was no threat in Rei's voice, she got the message: stand down.

Yang on the other hand, took the opportunity to say a piece of mind. After all, she still couldn't believe running away from their enemies was the only option they had right now. "These guys are probably the weak fry! We can take them on without breaking a single sweat!" The others also nodded, determination and persistence clearly shown.

And that was what caused Azure to snap.

"...Alright. Let me rephrase my question." The others couldn't help but to slowly edge away from Azure. The sudden calm demeanor, the quiet voice: all of it spelled potential doom.

"...Do you want to die? Get chomped and devoured by the Grimm, have your body shredded into a million pieces? Because that's exactly what will happen if we face against those guys right now. And it'll all be your little group's fault because you can't get the damn idea of running away through your thick skulls!"

Silence quickly filled the area, the group of eight stunned by Azure's rant. None of them were expecting something that harsh to come out, nor did they notice how reckless their actions were just now.

"Azure, I think that's enough for now." Rei broke the silence, a solemn look on her face. Realizing she went too far this time, Azure took a deep breath and nodded, the cold glare still directed at the group.

Rei sighed. Whether it was out of exasperation or exhaustion, the others couldn't tell. "Beacon awaits us. Let us depart immediately." Her words were short and curt, but there was a firm tone in her voice. The message was clear: no more arguing.

Silently, the pair departed for Beacon Academy, leaving a group of 8 confused students behind. Though it took them a few seconds, they too decided it would be best to heed their words and followed the pair.

* * *

"And finally: Blake Belladonna, Ruby Rose, Weiss Schnee and Yang Xiao Long. The four of you retrieved the white knight pieces. From this day forward, you will work together as Team RWBY. Led by... Ruby Rose!"

A roar of applause echoed through the Amphitheater, students of all years clapping for the new team. As for Team RWBY's members themselves, they were as equally ecstatic, though some more than others.

"I'm so happy for you!" Yang hugged her sister tightly, a wide grin spread across her face. Weiss, although hesitant, still forced a smile to congratulate their youngest member. Blake simply nodded her head, a sympathetic smile on her face.

"Jeez you guys..." It took all of Ruby's resolve to not pull her hood down out of embarrassment. Her face bright red out of embarrassment and excitement, the 4 girls quickly stepped off the stage.

Once the team had finally left, Ozpin motioned for silence. The applause eventually dying down, he stated, "Now, I do believe we have one last group?"

Already knowing it was their turn, the pair quietly headed towards the centre of the stage. "Rei Noire. Azure Lylia. The two of you have retrieved the black queen." Similar to the others, applause rang out for the two. But it was cut short when Ozpin raised his hand, a signal motioning for silence. "However, an issue has risen..."

The Amphitheater became dead silent, excluding the couple murmurs of confusion. Cocking her head to a side, Rei asked slowly, "Do tell what this problem is, headmaster."

"Our expectations were for you to form a group of four, making a complete team. However, due to the sudden uneven number of students this year, there were two extra remaining students." As he said this, the school's list of applicants was broadcasted onto the screen. True to Ozpin's words, there were indeed an extra amount of applicants. "And it just so happens to be the two of you."

A pause. Then Ozpin asked in a curious voice, "So, would you like to tell me why the two of you were manipulating this initiation? Especially when the two of you were intentionally avoiding the other students?"

If someone were to be standing outside the Amphitheater, they would describe the change of volume inside as a bomb exploding from impact.

"Impressive. I am surprised you were able to tell, but I guess I should expect no less from our headmaster, no?" Rei spoke in her usual monotone tone, no surprise betrayed in her voice. It was difficult to hear her this time because the entire Amphitheatre was filled with chatter, yelling, and screaming.

Ozpin casted a smirk upon his face. "You flatter me." He brought his cane down once, the sound of the tip hitting the ground echoed throughout the noisy Amphitheater. Immediately, the noise level died, and he was free to speak clearly now. "As for your answer..."

His voice trailed on as he noticed Rei's attention was not fixed on him, but towards the crowd of students. Gazing upon them, almost like inspecting each individual. Finally, she slowly walked to the centre of the Amphitheater and spoke out loud, loud enough for everyone to hear her.

"The students at Beacon are all exceptional fighters. Only the best with the potential to change this world can be accepted into this academy, am I correct?" Not waiting for any answers, she continued. "What I am about to say next may sound harsh, but for each person I see here, I see someone who I cannot work with."

By now, everyone was accustomed with the change of noise level in the Amphitheater since there were numerous accusations sent towards Rei and her partner, accompanied with spiteful glares or gaping mouths. Team RWBY and JNPR were not far behind, though they chose the less accusatory level and decided to discuss it amongst themselves.

"You misunderstand my words, fellow students." Surprisingly, Rei's voice could be heard over the abnormal noise level, and it quickly turned the noisy crowd into an attentive group. It was quite fascinating as to how much control she had while she was speaking. Something that was not unnoticed under Ozpin's observations.

"I apologize if I have insulted any of you. I sincerely do not accuse any of you to be weak, to be brainless, to be foolish. Like I have said before, you all deserve your place here at Beacon," She took a deep breath, her throat dry from talking so loudly. "But I must ask you all this question: what defines the perfect partner?"

Hesitant murmurs could be heard amongst the crowd. Truth be told, it was a legitimately deep question. Not many had considered what would qualify for the perfect partner, let alone try to search for said characteristics.

"Is it hard work? Strength? Attitude?" Each question struck the students' minds, and each shake of Rei's head left them bewildered and confused. "Though they are essential, I do not believe in any of these qualities. Instead, I believe that familiarity is the key to making a perfect team. If you are working with someone you knew your entire life, you can work perfectly in sync. Produce the best results. And most certainly, avoid awkward situations."

A few awkward chuckles could be heard in the crowd, so Rei decided to continue. "I see most of you agree with me. That is the reason why Azure and I have already made the plan to form our team beforehand. We have known each other for our entire lives, and we would do anything for the other. With that serving to our advantage, our primary goal was to avoid others and instead focus on finding each other, allowing us to form our team. Our team set and made, we would achieve marvelous goals during our 4 years at Beacon."

Amazed and shocked by her words, the crowd of students could do little but watch Rei as she retreated back to her original spot next to Azure. Although many wanted to find it hard to believe, what Rei had said was true and they could only wonder who this wise person was.

So it came to their surprise when Rei asked in a now bitter voice, "But if I understand it clearly, that would be against the rules, would it not?"

"Yes, it would. Normally, this sort of act would be defined as cheating and the punishment would be expulsion from Beacon." Glynda curtly answered back, her eyes never leaving Rei.

How ironic it was that the crowd was now defending her, especially team RWBY and JNPR who were shouting with the top of their lungs. Had Rei allowed herself, she would have been smirking at the change. "I am grateful for all of your support. However, the rules are the rules: they are not meant to be broken." The crowd grew silent once more as she motioned to Azure, who nodded in understanding. They would play along for now. "If it has come to this, then we will follow your orders. Headmaster. Professor Goodwitch."

With a final bow to both professors, they began to make their way down off the stage. Only when they had reached the first step did Ozpin speak out. "I do not believe we mentioned the idea of expelling you two."

Everyone either had shocked or confused looks on their faces. Well, everyone except Rei and Azure.

"You have lost me there, headmaster."

"While it may be true that the two of you have manipulated the initiation, your fighting skills on the other hand," Video clips of Rei and Azure's fight against the Nevermore were shown on the screen. "Prove that both of you have the potential and power to become excellent huntresses. It would seem unfair to waste such a good chance. Thus," The pictures of Rei and Azure replaced the videos. "Rei Noire. Azure Lylia **.** The two of you have retrieved the black queen. From this day forward, you will work together as Team NA. Led by... Rei Noire!"

The whole Amphitheater exploded in applause and congrats. Students were jumping out of their seats to congratulate the new students, and Rei merely raised an eyebrow at Ozpin's decision. She was curious of what Ozpin was planning, but decided to follow this little game Ozpin was playing at. So she bowed her head, portraying respect and gratitude to her headmaster.

"Thank you, headmaster. We will generously accept this invitation."

"I do hope so. You two show exceptional power," At this, Rei narrowed her eyes slightly. Ozpin's smile showed genuine admiration, but his eyes told another story. "Power that first years should not have." He whispered the last bit, intent on passing the message solely to Rei and Azure.

On the outside, Rei remained calm and collected. But it took all her inner will to prevent any murderous intent from flowing out of her body. Ozpin was suspicious, but he was not desperate in looking for answers yet. They were safe for now.

"I believe you are mistaken, headmaster." Rei slowly said, making sure to choose her words wisely. "Azure and I still require a lot of training before we are qualified huntresses. Our power dwindles when compared to those who are in the battlefield."

"...Very well. I believe your friends are waiting for you."

"Indeed. Have a good night, sir." Rei bowed once more before joining Azure and headed towards their friends. Ozpin simply watched with a bemused look, casually taking a sip out of his mug.

"It looks like things are shaping up to be an... interesting year."

* * *

Ruby was worried.

They weren't okay. She could tell that much when they had stepped up onto the stage, almost as if they knew Ozpin was going to call them out. And during that initiation...she shuddered at the thought. Their demeanor instantly changed from normal teenagers to soldiers fighting on the frontlines of countless fights with the Grimm.

"Guys, what was that all about? Was Ozpin telling the truth?" The hesitant look and worried tone in Ruby's voice revealed how she felt at the moment. Her friends were no different, all wondering what had just happened.

When they had returned, Ruby expected reassurance from the pair, telling them that everything was fine. Well, at least from Rei. Azure was another story.

All she received was silence.

"...Guys?"

"...Ruby,: Rei suddenly spoke up and Ruby flinched. Her voice. No energy or emotion in it. "I am exhausted right now. Azure is as well. We're going to find our dorm right now and rest, so we'll see you all in the morning. Good night." Rei did not wait for an answer from Ruby and started walking to the end of the hallway. Azure closely followed her, glaring at the small group behind them.

"O-oh! Well...G-good night!" Ruby barely managed to keep her voice steady after Rei's comment, and could only watch with the others as the pair disappeared into the darkness of the hallways.

* * *

"...He did it again, didn't he?"

"...Yes."

"...We gonna do anything about it?"

"Not yet."

"Alright, if you say so...But if he chooses to interfere again-"

" **We will eliminate him. I can guarantee that, Azure.** "

"Good. **Because I was thinking the same exact thought.** " She sighed in exhaustion. Today had indeed been a troublesome day. "Shall we?"

"Indeed."

Their inner demons already catching up to them, fear was not present in their minds. Nor was there anger, frustration, or regret.

There was only a single instruction to follow: to prevent **his** interference in the mission.


	5. Calm Before The Storm

**Oh my god...Two chapters a week apart from each other…**

 **...It's a miracle…**

 **Okay jokes aside, I think you guys will find this chapter...interesting. I had a lot of difficulty trying to write one character in particular, so I hope you forgive me if she's a bit OOC.**

 **Nothing else to say really, so let's get this started!**

 **And here...we...go.**

* * *

 **Calm Before The Storm**

 **She dashed through the very fabric of time and space itself. Flashes of light and shiny particles passed her.**

 **How annoying it was that she had to put up with the guards circulating the entrance of the time portal. Apparently, they were assigned with said task after they had allowed two criminals escape: a human and a creature.**

 **Guards? The very idea made her laugh. Apparently, they weren't so good at guarding anything.**

 **They were also not so good at staying alive…**

 **Shaking her head rapidly, she regained her focus and dashed through the planes of time and space. How much longer would it take until she would reach her targets? After all, with what he had done to upset the lord of time and disrupt the harbinger of sleep, she was obliged to make sure the events would play out correctly.**

 **Ah. There they were. Holding hands almost as if they were a couple.**

 **...Energy was gathered in her left hand. One second passed.**

 **...It formed into many miniscule balls of dark energy. Another second passed.**

 **...Without any hesitation, she threw them directly at the pair, making sure she would not miss. Three seconds.**

 **She stood back to observe her work.**

 **The moment the balls of dark energy hit the pair, they were flung out of control They both screamed in pain, crashing into each other and momentarily loosing their grip during their recovery from the attack. However, the creature noticed this just in time and grasped for the human's hand, tightening his hold on the human's hand.**

" **Don't let go! I can't lose you now!"**

 **Tsk tsk. That wasn't good. They were supposed to be seperated from now. No human nor creature alive in this world would be able to remain conscious after her attack. She had made sure of that.**

 **She shrugged her shoulders. Oh well. Here comes the second barrage...**

 **She produced another wave of dark energy balls from her hand and flung it at the pair. Or more specifically, at the human.**

 **This time, the impact was too much for the human to withstand. He immediately lost conscious and his grasp on the creature's hand immediately loosened. Despite the creature's attempts of saving his friend, it was futile.**

" **N-No. Please! I can't hold on much longer!"**

 **Was his work still in play here? She pondered on the thought: they were supposed to separate right about-**

" **Ahhhh!"**

 **Now.**

 **After watching the pair fade into the darkness of the void, she sighed. Her work was done for now. There was no need to pay anymore attention at the situation. The only problem was…**

 **She looked around. Up. Down. Left. Right. No exit.**

 **She sweatdropped.**

 **...How was she going to get out of this one now?**

* * *

She woke up in a jolt, her breathing now heavy with pressure.

She was in her room. With Azure. At Beacon. In Vale. On Remnant. Intention focused on completing the mission.

The quick scan around her room confirmed that: Azure was resting in a bed beside her, the sunlight was slowly creeping through the slits of the window curtains, and she recalled yesterday's events with the others.

How many times did she need to remind herself of the information?

A few seconds passed as she recollected her thoughts. Then, she slammed her fist against her bed.

Every. Single. Time.

No matter how hard she tried, no matter what kind of method she used, the dreams would never fade. Like the previous ones, they did not seem strange, but they did not seem familiar. In addition, they felt like an illusion, but also like reality.

How she would overcome these dreams, or nightmares per say, in the future, she would never know. But what was important now was to remain calm and empty her mind.

"...I need some fresh air." She grumbled to herself as she got up, took her favourite hoodie, pulled the familiar headphones out of its pocket and exited the room in complete silence.

* * *

To many people, they would be exhausted from the initiation. Too tired to even stand, the students would resort to sleeping in on the first day, waking up late for their first classes. It was a common pattern amongst the students of Beacon Academy.

However, there were some exceptions to the case. Weiss Schnee was one of them.

The heiress was currently roaming the hallways of her dorm's floor, troubled with countless thoughts in her mind. A white silk robe wrapped over her pyjamas, she did not bother to change for she presumed there would not be anyone up this early.

"...Can't believe I was upstaged by someone like her." Weiss muttered to herself, the ice in her tone tempted to rise.

The person she was speaking of was that little crimson dunce herself, Ruby. And every time a single thought of said girl passed through her head, she felt like cursing a storm under her breath.

No matter how she saw it, no matter how many times she thought it through, Weiss would always draw to the same conclusion: Ruby Rose did not deserve the title of a team leader.

In fact, she would dare say that the scythe wielder was not ready to become a huntress at all. Her stubborn personality, her childish attitude, even that smile of hers! Could the girl not take anything serious for once?

Of course not. It had been a problem Weiss immediately identified the moment she laid eyes on her in the Emerald Forest, and it was the same reason why their team attack against the Nevermore had not succeeded. Sure, Weiss would give the girl credit for making the plan, but credit would only exceed as far when she realized how reckless the girl was during combat. That recklessness had almost costed her life, and if it were not for someone's interference, they would not be where they currently were.

Speaking of which, there was someone else who had managed to get under her skin. And she was unsurprised of who it was.

"She has the nerve to talk to me like that!" Weiss practically spat the words out, a deep scowl on her face. "Does she even realize who she was talking to?"

But in her head, she already knew the answer. Even if the girl who accompanied Rei everywhere did recognise her title, Weiss knew the girl would not respect it. She knew people like her, the ones who believed that they were strong enough to do anything they liked. Their actions would usually included disrespecting others and acting as if they owned the world.

She would have pondered on the thought longer, but she was interrupted when she heard a familiar voice echoing through the hallways, coming from the direction of the balcony. Curious, she headed towards the doors of the balcony and opened them, wanting to know who the bearer of the voice was. "Who-"

Sunlight completely filled her vision and she turned away, blinded by the sudden change in light. When her eyes could finally adjust to the brightness, her eyes and mouth were wide open in shock.

Singing in a melodic voice that would make professional singers jealous, Rei stood at the edge of the balcony, her back turned away from Weiss. She still wore her favourite black hoodie and had a pair of headphones on. It didn't take long until Weiss began to listen to the lyrics of the song she was listening to.

"So we can take the world back from the heart-attacked,

One maniac at a time we will take it back.

You know time crawls on when you're waiting for the song to start,

So dance alone to the beat of your heart..."

Weiss couldn't help but simply stare at the girl, amazed at how peaceful the song sounded. Being a singer herself, she recognised many techniques Rei had used to reach the notes of the song, regardless of how high or low they were. They notified her of how professional Rei must have been to achieve such a high level in vocals, and she would even dare say that-

"Weiss?"

Snapping back to reality, Weiss finally noticed Rei staring at her with a confused look. How she did not notice it before, she had no idea.

She also just realized that Rei was standing right in her face.

Flinching slightly, Weiss quickly backed away from the girl, flashing a weak smile to hide the shock and surprise in her voice. "A-ah, Rei! H-how unexpected of you to be up here!"

"..." Rei simply stared at her, her wide eyes never leaving her face. It looked as if she was inspecting her, analyzing her every move.

Needless to say, Weiss was a little creeped out.

"So, I'm sure you're wondering as to why I must be up here, correct?"

"..." The same response was given to her, making her wonder what she was doing wrong.

"Okay..." Weiss couldn't help but display an awkward tone in her voice. Wanting to change the subject of the one-sided conversation, she quickly thought of something to say. "If you don't mind, I do have a question for you-"

"Your words are coated with frustration and uncertainty. Tell me what is really on your mind."

How Rei had easily saw through her illusion of words, she would never know. But she still tried to keep her facade up. "I-I'm not sure what you're talking about."

"This is about Azure, is it not?"

"...Yes." Weiss sighed, a bit of frustration in her voice. How did the girl always manage to convince her to tell her the truth?

Weiss expected the girl to be disappointed in her. To argue that Azure knew what she was doing.

She did not expect Rei to sigh in exhaustion.

"You must understand, Weiss," Rei said as she took off her headphones and pulled her hood down. "Azure did not speak out of term yesterday. Had she not convinced the eight of you from rushing in blindly, you would all be found in a...difficult situation." The last words were put into heavy consideration. "Even if she did not show it, she was concerned of your well being."

Weiss bit her lip, knowing full well Rei did not mean any harm in defending her partner. However, that did not stop the anger flowing through her blood. "That is still not an excuse of her attitude! She rudely insulted all of us, thinking we would foolishly waste our lives like that!"

Again, Rei managed to surprise Weiss by nodding her head, an understanding look on her face. "I cannot disagree with you on that. Many times I must remind her to be mindful of others, yet she continues to forget and chooses to behave on her own." A sigh, followed by the closing of her eyes. "But of course, that is one of the reasons as to why I chose her as my partner."

It took a second for Weiss to make sure she had heard that correctly. It took another to pinch herself to make sure she was awake. "Wait, you did?! Why?!"

Rei looked up at the sky and sighed. If she had a penny every time someone would ask her why she decided to team up with someone like Azure, she would be rich. And every time someone did ask, she would give them the same answer.

"Your confusion is to be expected," She slowly said, each word carefully thought before being spoke. "The Azure you see today would resemble the Azure I had first met. In the past, she was known for her cold personality and attitude towards others. Distaste towards people and refusing to trust others, Azure isolated herself from the outside world, unwilling to form any connections and bonds."

Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw Weiss slowly nodding in agreement. It showed she was at least understanding her reasoning. So Rei decided to continue.

"However, there are times where one who possesses those qualities is required."

She had to give Weiss credit for keeping a blank expression. However, there was evident confusion in Weiss's voice. "What do you mean?"

"...Will you be insulted if what I am about to say may turn out to be disrespectful?"

Weiss blinked. There were two things that surprised her. For starters, there was hesitation in Rei's voice, something Weiss could not believe to exist as the girl always managed to keep a calm persona.

The second thing was that Rei was actually considerate of asking for her permission to speak against her. Not many, scratch that, nobody had the courtesy of doing something like that, and she wondered how Rei managed to say it with a straight face.

"Depends..." Weiss cautiously concluded, earning a slight reassured look from Rei. The girl may have helped her several times, but there was no telling when she would step out of line. "But continue."

"I may appear to be young, Weiss, but there are times where my knowledge may outweigh yours," At this, Weiss frowned a bit, but resisted the urge to snap at Rei. "I have lived the majority of my life outside a sheltered home, away from the care of others. As you could tell, survival in the outside world is a very dangerous task. To survive, you must have power. To have power, you must have strength. And strength," Rei paused, as if reflecting her thoughts. "May come at a price."

Weiss was no fool in not believing Rei. Although she had lived a privileged life in the upper class, there had been times where she had witnessed the cruelties of the outside world herself. There was first pity, then confusion: what did this has to do with Azure?

She voiced her confusion, and Rei simply closed her eyes. Now that Weiss noticed, Rei certainly had a habit of doing that.

"Do you remember what I had said yesterday? About the whole speech revolving around partners?" To this, Weiss could only tilt her head, trying to recall they key points in Rei's speech.

"Yes, you said that familiarity was the best way to choose a partner." Weiss summarized, looking a bit confused as to why Rei would suddenly decide to bring up the topic..

Rei nodded, pleased that she had been paying attention. and it took all her willpower to withhold the smirk which was slowly creeping on her face."Indeed. But there was one other component I had forgotten."

For a split second, Weiss appeared to have been punched in the stomach. Another second was used to regain her composure.

"W-well, what is it?" She finally asked, not bothering to hide the surprise in her voice.

"...Loyalty."

There was a still silence that enveloped the area. Weiss could not help but simply shudder at the sudden change of tone in Rei's voice. Gone was the calm, tranquil tone, replaced by the severe, cold voice.

"A partner is someone who is willing to protect their teammate. A partner is someone who will never betray the other's expectations, no matter what given circumstance. A partner is someone who is willing to sacrifice everything they have in order to help the others."

Rei spared a glance at Weiss, who was currently trying to digest everything she had said. She couldn't blame her: it was a huge amount of information to digest.

"That is Azure. And that is the reason why I have chosen her as my partner." Rei concluded, finishing with a firm nod to emphasis her point.

Silence filled the area once more. Rei scratched her head: she wondered if she had said too much.

"I think I understand now." Weiss's voice interrupted her pondering. Looking back at her, there was a look of understanding. It seemed as though she comprehended the importance of a partner, and Rei truly appreciated that.

"She is someone you truly care about, right?" Weiss added, already knowing the answer from Rei. For someone to hold such importance, who would deny such feelings?

So it came to a shock when Rei openly frowned at the sentence, startling Weiss at the sudden change of expression.

"Care? You misunderstand. I hold no feelings towards her." Surely she was joking, right? The strength of the bond between the two was clear, so clear that even an ignorant person would surely notice.

But no, there was no hint of Rei's sarcasm. She truly meant what she said. And Weiss could not accept it.

"Wh-what do you mean by that?!" Weiss exclaimed, denial in her voice that Rei would even say such a thing. "Isn't she your partner? Your friend? Wouldn't you be just a bit concerned if she was hurt?"

Rei shook her head. She had predicted a conflict of her views would soon arise. It would be better to take care of them right away. "Feelings and emotions stand in the way of an objective. They are a burden. They hinder a person's capability, both physically and mentally. Thus, I choose not to rely on these so called 'feelings', regardless if I am on a mission or not."

Weiss pursed her lips. If one were to look at it from a logical viewpoint, Rei's views on the subject were not wrong. After all, Weiss herself experienced a time where she had withheld her emotions to strengthen herself. To prove she could meet her family's expectations. But as time passed on, she soon realized that others were beginning to use her blank personality to their advantage. Only until a certain point did she resort back to her old self, portraying her emotions as clear as a bright light in during the dark night.

"That still doesn't sound right..." She admitted at the end, to which Rei responded with a shrug.

"You are not forced to follow my footsteps, Weiss. Though this may sound like a wrong decision, I have chosen this path myself, and understood what needed to be sacrificed. I have no regrets." Reassurance was in Rei's voice, but it had no effect on Weiss this time. Even though she was not the best at reading others, she knew there was something Rei was hiding from her. Something that she was not ready to openly admit.

"If you truly believe that," Weiss began to say, holding up a hand to allow herself to continue when Rei began to object. "Then I will have no objections with your decision. I will respect your beliefs for now."

A pregnant pause came from Rei, and it worried Weiss. She had absolutely no idea how Rei would react to her response. Would she be furious at her decision, disappointed that she had made no attempt to stop her, or even depressed that she did not agree with her? Weiss did not know what to expect.

Well, it was safe to say she was definitely not expecting a bitter chuckle from Rei..

"Wh-what's so funny?" Weiss stuttered at the sudden noise. How Rei could find this amusing, she would, and most likely, never find out.

This world was truly cruel to her, wasn't it? It was first Ruby, now it was Weiss. So many comparisons with others could be made due to their similar physical characteristics and personalities, and the simple idea of it made her laugh.

"Forgive me, but you remind me of someone I used to know," An image of a stern-looking, young woman with red hair appeared in her mind. "Daughter of a famous company, manipulator of ice, and she used a weapon similar to yours. It is almost a coincidence for you two to be so similar." She paused, trying to remember any extra details, and added, "Now that I recall, her kindness was similar to yours."

Flustered at the comment, Weiss immediately tried to deny it, "I-I'm not kind! Not at all!" Her face had faint traces of a blush, slowly beginning to form on her face.

Under her breath, Rei merely chuckled at the flustered heiress. She predicted the outcome to be like this, yet it was somehow still hilarious to watch. Perhaps she would have fun doing this kind of activity often in the future. For now, she would merely watch the antics enfold.

"If you choose to believe that, so be it. It is my opinion after all. You are to free to disagree with it." A sudden alarm emitted in her pocket, and she took the device out and checked the time. "The students are waking up soon for their first day of classes. I must make preparations as well for the classes. Perhaps I will see you later, Weiss?"

There was a momentary pause before Weiss responded in a shaky voice, "Y-Yeah. That would be nice."

Nodding at her answer, Rei left the balcony, leaving a rigid Weiss by herself. Only a few seconds passed did she ask the question that was circulating her mind the entire time out loud.

"Why is she always so polite?"

* * *

The very first class began at the usual time of 9:00 am. With the last students barely arriving on time, including team RWBY and team JNPR, the final bell had rung and the classes begun. Their first one was an interesting one: Grimm Studies.

Rei had to admit she was looking forward to this class in particular. Though she had researched and studied information focused on Remnant, there was little information of the Grimm, one of humanity's greatest enemies. If she were to meet these creatures during the mission, they would soon become nuisances to deal with. It would be better to first learn their strengths and weakness, thus she would need to pay attention to this class in order to learn the strengths and weaknesses of the Grimm.

...So why did it feel as if her concentration was in a haze? Her mind unfocused?

"Monsters! Demons! Prowlers of the night! Yes, the creatures of Grimm have many names, but I merely refer to them as prey! Ha-ha!"

Ah yes. The current…"distraction" in front of her.

Standing at the front of the class was the teacher of the class, Professor Peter Port. A middle-aged man with gray hair and a gray mustache while wearing a double-breasted burgundy suit, Professor Port was very distinguished accompanied by his loud voice and cheerful attitude. Sadly, said characteristics had the tendency of either annoying the students to boredom, resulting in the loss of attention, or convincing the students that the Professor was a waste of time to listen to.

To her side, Azure simply groaned in exasperation. Accompanied by that loud, annoying voice and boastful attitude of his, her impression of the professor was very low and it took every ounce of her willpower in order to not smack herself in the forehead with her desk.

"Are you sure I am not allowed to cage this guy so he can finally SHUT UP?!" Her apprentice whispered frantically, her eyes begging to silence the man. To her disappointment, Rei merely shook her head.

"No, you may not." The tone in her voice made it clear to drop the subject.

"Tch. You take the fun out of everything," Azure grumbled as she continued to gaze lazily at Professor Port. Boredom rarely took over the apprentice's mind, but this would be a special case. "That reminds me. Where were you this morning?"

Rei raised an eyebrow at this. It was unusual for her apprentice to ask such a question out of the blue. "Outside, getting fresh air," She responded, reminding herself to tell her encounter with Weiss later. Considering they were not on the best of terms, it would be better to let the two soothe their anger towards one another. "Did I worry you?"

Azure shook her head. "Knowing you, I would say no. We both know you're more than capable in defending yourself."

A shrug of shoulders was all that she received. "I suppose." Rei stated, turning her gaze back at Professor Port.

The next few minutes consisted of Professor Port's rambling, Professor Port's rambling, and even more of Professor Port's rambling. There was a student who suddenly yelled out, but she paid no attention to it.

"...Remind me what are we waiting for again. I honestly cannot stand this guy's blabbering anymore."

It seemed as though Azure could not take anymore of the man's ranting. To be fair, Rei did have to give credit to Azure there: she never truly did like people who talked a lot.

"Please do not let your impatience get the better of you, Azure." Rei consulted the girl, to which Azure grumbled in return. "If I recall correctly, we only need to wait until a certain someone speaks out."

"And do tell when this moment will arrive?" The annoyance in Azure's voice was evident, but she chose to ignore it.

"Well, judging how things are going, I would predict that moment would be-"

"I do, sir!" Weiss slammed her hand on her desk and stood up, eyes flashing with anger.

"...Now." Rei finished nonchalantly and turned to a stunned Azure.

"...Seriously, stop doing that, okay?" Azure muttered as she rubbed the bridge of her nose. How Rei managed to do it every single time, she would never know. "You're starting to freak me out."

Rei nodded in return. "Apologies."

As they watched Weiss descend to the front of the class, Azure asked, "So, do we need to interfere with her fight? Or do we just wait it out?"

Recalling the rules of the mission, Rei chose the latter option. "I propose we observe for now. Her life is currently not in danger, so I see no reason to interfere."

A shrug from Azure confirmed her understanding. "If you say so. Not like I really cared in the first place." The last sentence was simply a mutter, to which Rei could only sigh in exasperation. How long it would take for her apprentice to make peace with the heiress, she would never know.

"Do you hear that?" Rei blinked when her apprentice suddenly spoke out, her voice filled with curiosity.

"Hear what, my apprentice?"

There was a brief moment of silence before Azure simply shook her head. "Must be my imagination, but I thought I heard some kind of ticking noise."

Rei frowned. Although it could be another student making the noise, she would not take the risk of jeopardizing the mission. "Strange. There only seems to be digital clocks in this classroom, so we can cross out that possibility," She looked cautiously around the classroom and noticed nothing out of the ordinary. "Could you do a quick scan of the classroom, Azure?"

It would take her no effort to perform the task, thus Azure merely shrugged and agreed to Rei's request. "Sure."

...A few seconds later and Azure could be heard cursing under her breath."...Crap."

"Another problem, Azure?" Rei voiced her concern: she did not like where this was going.

"Tell me, Rei. Why do I hear the ticking noise inside the cage? Specifically, inside the Boarbatusk?"

"...Prepare yourself, Azure. This will be...unpleasant."

"Noted."

* * *

Weiss thought she would be able to defeat the Grimm with relative ease. To show that she was the one who deserved the title of team leader, not Ruby.

But as the fight between the heiress and the Grimm progressed, that confidence quickly turned into frustration and panic.

To quickly summarize, the fight was not in Weiss's favor.

 _This is so frustrating! I should have no trouble defeating an opponent like this! Am I truly that weak?_

Weiss gritted her teeth in frustration as she summoned another glyph to protect herself from another of the Boarbatusk's charges.

Yep...This fight was definitely not going her way.

 _Actually, it would be much more easier to concentrate, IF IT WERE NOT FOR SOMEONE'S DISTRACTIONS!_

"Weiss! Go for its belly! There's no armor underneath-"

That was all that took to make Weiss snap.

"ENOUGH!"

She quickly stepped out of the Boarbatusk charge and use her glyph to propel the Boarbatusk into the air. Myrtenaster glistening in the light, Weiss stabbed its blade into the Grimm's stomach and pierced the weapon through its entire body. The Grimm squealed in pain, but nevertheless died from the hit.

As she separated Myrtenaster from the Grimm's corpse, many of the students began to congratulate her for her victory. However, those cheers were immediately shut down when the heiress whirled around and glared at one particular person.

"THERE?! HAPPY?! I FOLLOWED YOUR ADVICE AND WON THE BATTLE! ARE YOU FINALLY SATISFIED?!"

"...Weiss?" The scared look she received from Ruby made her falter for a second, but she managed to regain her cold expression.

"Miss. Schnee, are you alright?" Professor Port asked in a concerned voice, to which Weiss merely levelled her cold gaze to his.

"No. I'm not." The whole class flinched at the venom in her words, and Professor Port continued to frown at the behaviour of his student. He would have consulted his student about it directly. but there were things to be taught right now. The matter would have to be discussed at a later point.

 **Tick. Tick. Tick.**

It was until now that the ticking noise was apparent for everyone to hear. And another detail was finally noticed by everyone in the class.

"Why is the Boarbatusk glowing?"

Though she had no idea who asked it, the sudden question caught Weiss's attention. She turned around and stared at the body. For a brief moment, she simply watched the corpse of the Boarbatusk glow. Then, she was met face to face with the full blast of the explosion.

 **BOOM.**

* * *

When Weiss came to, the entire area was enveloped with smoke, no doubt caused by the blast of the explosion. Her hearing disabled by the sudden blast, she looked around wearily, the throbbing pain of her head increasing for each second she remained conscious.

"...Wh-What just..,h-happened?" She coughed out the last part of her question, her throat suddenly coated with dust. She gagged at the realization of the dryness in her voice, almost tempted to throw up at the experience.

"...It seems like the Grimm was rigged to explode upon death." A stern voice notified her of the situation as the shadow of a figure knelt in front of her, their body arched to protect Weiss from the impact of the explosion.

When the smoke finally cleared, Weiss took a quick look at her savior, already knowing their identity by the sound of their voice.

"R-Rei? You were the one who saved-"

There was a pause. Weiss then screamed when she got a better look at Rei.

Confused, Rei tilted her head to the side, unsure of the reaction she had received from Weiss. "Weiss, what's wrong?" She tried to calm the girl, to relieve the girl of her worries, but Weiss continued to panic. "You look as if you saw a monster of some kind."

A bewildered look remained on Weiss's face as she stared in horror at Rei. What she saw would always remain in her memories, and it would eternally scar her for life.

Blood, gore, and dust covered Rei's entire body, the majority covering her back and hair. Bits of debris caused by the blast of the explosion scraped her arms and legs, multiple gashes and wounds forming where the debris met contact with her body.

The key detail that startled her the most laid evident in front of her: the tusks of the Boarbatusk which pierced the right side of her face, her right eye remaining closed from the pain of the injury and the blood that was rushing down her brow.


	6. Aftermath and Preparations

**Before we begin, I would like to address something. Something very important, and something very dear to me.**

 **At the date this will be posted, this chapter will mark the one year anniversary of Monty Oum's passing.**

 **He was a man of many things. Hard working, determined, and creative. These were only a few of the characteristics that made Monty the man we now recognize and admire.**

 **Countless hours spent on animating for the sake of our enjoyment. Countless hours used to organize and structure the stories that would bring joy and excitement to us. Countless months where he would make sure we would get what we wanted, enjoy what we wanted, and remember what we wanted.**

 **He was an inspiration to many, before and after his passing. He will never be forgotten. He will always be remembered for his work and efforts.**

 **For that, I would like to thank Monty for inspiring me, for giving me courage into pursuing things that I truly would like to do, and for allowing me to find who I truly was when I was lost in the fog of confusion.**

 **Thank you Monty Oum. There will never be a person who I will admire more than you.**

* * *

 **Aftermath and Preparations**

"What the hell happened in there yesterday?"

"Dunno. All I heard was a huge boom, then suddenly all these students come rushing out of there, screaming and yelling like someone died."

"And they're not letting us in to see what happened?"

"Nope. Headmaster and Professor Goodwitch immediately blocked the entrance of the classroom and denied anyone of entering the room."

"Damn. You don't think that somebody actually did kick the bucket?"

"Probably not. Considering there was a teacher at the time, there shouldn't be anything to worry about. After all, they are supposed to guarantee our safety, right?"

"Yeah, but what about that teacher who teaches the Grimm class? You know, Professor Port? He's the kind of guy who would throw his students at the Grimm to teach them a lesson."

"I doubt it, considering it was Professor Ozpin's recommendation to hire the guy. Unless you're telling me our own headmaster made a mistake-"

"O-of course not!"

"Good. Anyways, I think-"

"Holy crap! Guys! Guys!"

"Yo, you came back. Now tell us what the hell actually happened in there!"

"...The rumors are true."

"...Shit. I feel bad for the victim here."

"Let's just hope they're still alive at this point..."

* * *

As for the rumored person in question, Rei found herself in a medical bed located on the third floor of the medical wing in Beacon's campus. A whole day had passed from the incident and Rei sat in bed peacefully as time slowly dragged along. Strapped to a monitor which observed her condition, the injured girl was able to calmly ponder over thoughts, something she could not do yesterday. The previous night was not as peaceful; the doctors and nurses busied themselves, examining her body and checking for any injuries needed to be treated.

So it was safe to say that Rei preferred this peace and quiet. It gave her time to think thoroughly over yesterday's incident...and remind her what was needed to be done in order to counter this chaos.

"How far will you continue this little 'game' of yours?" Rei murmured to herself, her head resting against the pillow as she gazed at the sunlight peering through her window. "How long until you are fully satisfied with what you have done?"

Indeed, that was the question Rei would constantly ask herself. This had not been the first time her advisory committed an atrocious act such as this one, nor was it the first time his intentions were spoken through violence and chaos.

Shaking her head in dismay, Rei continued to speak. "You made the first move, and I allowed you to continue. You made another and I had granted you a chance to reconsider your actions. The third one...is what will decide your fate."

A knocking at the door interrupted her murmuring and Rei ceased all thoughts in order to focus her mind on the present. "Come in."

Slowly opening the door and closing in quietly behind her, Azure entered the room and approached her side, her face filled with annoyance.

"Ah, Azure. Were you successful in convincing them that I have fully recovered?"

Azure scoffed at the question. It was a silly one to ask, but she presented no disrespect to her master. "Tch, what do you think? It's the hospital, doofus. They're not gonna exactly let you walk out of here like it's your house or something."

"I expected that." With a sigh, she turned her attention once more to the room's window. She had already known the answer to her question, but had wished to confirm it herself. "We should at least be grateful they did not decide to perform any examinations on my body. It would have been quite a...nuisance if they did."

Azure merely hummed in agreement as she stood over the side of her bed, eyes lost in thought. An exchange of silence passed and Rei simply sighed. She knew what Azure wanted to say and gestured for her apprentice to speak.

"...You could have been on the brink of death in that explosion, you know." Azure finally spoke up, a faint tone of concern in her voice.

"I could have," She nodded at Azure's statement: it was true that her actions carried enormous amounts of risk. "But were it not for your powers, your timing, and your precision, I would have to expose myself in front of the others. However, I was able to conceal my ability for now. and it is thanks to you that we were able to dodge a bullet from the unexpected event.

This was meant to console Azure and soothe her of her worries. Ironically, the opposite occurred as Azure merely scowled at her master's words.

"...Can't believe he would resort to sabotage and manipulation already..." A grumble emitted from Azure as she trailed off to the window, eyes glaring off to the distance. "Is he ever gonna be tired of doing this kind of shit? What, does he take pleasure from making our work harder?!"

Each word was followed by a slam on the windowsill, the glass shaking from each impact. Azure's face demonstrated the same result: the usual cold expression was replaced with a furious-looking look on her face.

Rei simply frowned at her apprentice's anger. Sometimes, she would never understand her apprentice's emotions. "Azure..."

Another slam on the windowsill demonstrated her rage. "Because of him, that fucking bastard, we have even more work to do in this world! And I'm fucking tired of it!" She continued, her voice seething with venom and disgust.

It took a few seconds for her to recollect her thoughts, something Rei easily granted her. Knowing how frustrating these missions were sometimes from personal experience, she knew what it was like to fight against something that never seemed to give up.

"...Anyways, I'm glad you're okay. The last thing we need is for you to be critically injured during a mission..." Azure finally mumbled, her gaze directed somewhere else when she turned around to face her master.

Rei dismissed her concern with a wave. She did not want her apprentice to bear the burden. "I'm fine, Azure. Even without my abilities, I am more durable than I look. I will recover from these mishaps. But I thank you for your concern."

"You don't have to thank me..." Azure mumbled in annoyance, a contrast to the abrupt shy look she currently displayed. "By the way, you have visitors outside waiting to see you."

Rei simply chuckled at the news, a slight amused look on her face. Despite the past events, they were keen of going out of their way to visit her. Was this what humans called "trust"? Such a strange thing to comprehend.

"Shall I take a guess and presume it is our targets who are outside?" Judging by the roll of eyes from Azure, Rei presumed her hypothesis to be correct.

"Wow. How did you know?" Rei asked sarcastically, jabbing a finger towards the door. "But seriously, want me to call them in or shoo them away?"

Shrugging, Rei gestured for the group outside to enter. "We might as well invite them in. After all,"

The slight amused look quickly turned to a serious one. "I would like to have a talk with one of them in particular."

* * *

To say team RWBY was at least a bit worried for their friend was an understatement, proven immediately when the group of girls rushed into the room.

"R-Rei! T-thank god you're okay! I-I was so worried!"

Ruby was the first one to reach her side, her semblance activated for a speed boost. Tears of joy welled in her eyes, she clutched onto Rei's arm, almost desperate in relieving her worries for her friend.

Azure frowned at the sudden action from the leader of team RWBY, but quietly backed away from the group. Unnoticed and undisturbed was what she currently wanted, especially from the lot of them.

On the other hand, Rei let out a dry chuckle before patting the girl's head. "I appreciate your concern, Ruby." A frown replaced her smile. "But I must ask you to release me now. You're pressing on my wound."

Weiss, who was watching the two of them with a wary expression, suddenly snapped to attention and scowled at her leader. "Ruby, you heard her! Get off!"

"O-Oh god, I'm so sorry!" Ruby quickly apologized as she detached her grasp on Rei. The wounded girl simply waved it off, indicating there was no need to be concerned.

"I hope you are all alright from what has just happened?"

Yang nodded, a thin smile on her face. "Yeah, we're fine. A little shaken, but none us were close enough to be hurt from the explosion." She frowned when she realized what she said wasn't exactly true. "Well, all of us except..."

She let the thought trail off and gestured to Weiss. When Rei caught a glimpse of Weiss's appearance, she immediately knew what Yang was talking about.

Although Rei would give Weiss credit for keeping her physical appearance clean and proper, there were small signs that indicated the girl spent restless nights brooding over the past event. The shadows under the eyes, the fluttering of eyelids, even the shaking of the foot. These were all hints of someone who had just went through pressure and stress.

But most of all, it was the distracted look on Weiss's face that told the whole story. A look which Rei easily recognized from her past experiences in battle: guilt.

Turning towards Weiss, Rei asked, "I see. And how are you faring, Weiss?"

Hearing her name being called, Weiss snapped to attention. "I-I'm fine, thanks to you." Weiss stuttered, her voice filled with fake energy.

Rei nodded, as if convinced from Weiss's act. Her mind however, noted this down for the future. "Good. Hopefully, I did not worry any of you to the point of fainting."

"After what you pulled off yesterday? As if," Yang scoffed as she playfully swung her hands behind her head. "Considering you kind of killed a Nevermore by yourself and somehow managed to convince to Ozpin to accept you into Beacon, we should be expecting a miracle from you next."

Rei was tempted to roll her eyes at Yang's last sentence. The mention of a miracle was always a sour spot for Rei. "I believe we all have limits though, right?" She said with a frown on her face.

Before Yang could retort, Weiss abruptly cut in with a wave of her hand. "R-Returning back to the topic at hand, are your injuries okay? Did you get enough rest? Did they stop the bleeding from your wounds? Did they-"

"Whoa, whoa!" Yang placed a hand on Weiss's shoulder in an attempt to calm her down. "Calm down a bit, Ice Queen! Let the girl have a bit of breathing space first, alright?"

Shaking the hand of her shoulder, Weiss scowled at the blonde and said, "Well, excuse me of being at least a bit concerned over her-" She blinked when she realized Yang had called her a different name. "Wait, what did you call me?" Her scowl deepened as she waited for Yang's answer.

"Ice Queen! It's the new nickname I came up for you! Do you like it?"

Silence.

"...WHY YOU LITTLE-"

"Ignoring those two, are you sure you are feeling okay?" Blake spoke at a louder voice than usual in order to speak up. Behind her, Weiss and Yang were yelling at each other with Ruby trying to calm the two girls down and remind them they were still the medical wing. In the corner of the room, Azure shut her ears tightly, an annoyed look displayed on her face. "We all saw the damage the explosion did to your body, especially the tusk that penetrated your skin."

Rei shook her head. Was all this concern really necessary? She did just tell them her recovery was going smoothly, and yet they still fussed over her wellbeing. "I am fine, Blake. There is no need to be concerned over my wellbeing. I am recovering as we speak and should be able to leave the medical wing this evening."

"Okay." To her surprise, a small smile appeared on Blake's face. "I'm just glad they were able to remove that tusk from your face. It...looked like it really hurt."

...To be fair, it did sting a bit. But she wouldn't consider her injuries to be life-threatening.

"Oh yeah!" Ruby exclaimed as she and the others reproached Rei's side, their argument finally resolved. "What happened to the tusk?"

"The doctors removed it last night, and gave it to Professor Ozpin to analyze." Rei answered Ruby's question, earning a nod from the young gril. Weiss on the other hand, frowned as she raised an eyebrow at the answer.

"Analyze?"

Rei sighed. From the looks she was receiving from Azure, it was clear that they needed an answer. Here came the difficult part: how much would she reveal to them?

After careful thinking, she decided to tell them the truth. There was no point in hiding it; they would eventually figure it out by themselves.

"...They believe, the staff at Beacon that is, that whatever triggered the Boarbatusk to explode was not natural, but staged by someone who wanted to kill or critically injure the students at Beacon Academy."

Their reactions were what she had expected to receive if she were to mention this. After all, the truth was always the hardest to digest and acknowledge.

"Wh-Who would do such a thing?!" Eyes widened and jaw open, Ruby struggled with her question. The others had similar expressions, and were urging Rei to give them an answer.

An exhale of breath was emitted by Rei. If it was so easy, so simple, she would tell who was behind the attack. The action would lift such a heavy burden off her shoulders.

But...it was not their burden to carry. It was hers, and she was dead set on making sure they would not be involved with him.

"...It is unknown who the culprit is and what they are trying to achieve, but it is clear that they have no sympathy for innocent bystanders and will use any means possible to achieve their motive." Through gritted teeth, Rei lied and hid his identity. It was not the time to reveal who he was. Not now, at least.

"That's just...sickening. To think that there are people who would resort to this kind of stuff to get what they want." Blake scowled, a dark expression on her face.

Rei shrugged. To be fair, bomb planting was always used in order to get a message through to others. Whether it would be as a threat, a ransom, or a command, fear and panic would evidently follow.

"The world is filled with questionable individuals, Blake." Rei stated calmly, unnerved by the tense atmosphere in the room. "It is not uncommon to hear similar events happening around the world, both in the civilized and uncivilized populations."

Silence sank in as team RWBY took in the new information given to them. Would a person actually go through all this trouble, all this cruelty, to simply attempt to kill someone at the academy? If so, what would they try next? How much would it take until the unknown assailant to finally reach their objective?

"By the way, may I ask a question?" The sudden question from Rei startled everyone back to reality. Looking at each other, Ruby was the one who answered back.

"Go ahead."

"...How exactly did you guys get in the facility?" Rei asked in a questioning tone, a curious look on her face. "I distinctly remember Professor Goodwitch monitoring the hallways for unwanted visitors, particularly students. "

"Oh, that!" A sly grin appeared on Yang's face while everyone groaned out loud. This was followed by a confused look from both Rei and Azure, prompting Yang to continue. "Well, since we couldn't get in the normal way, we just climbed through one of the windows!"

"...This is the third floor." The deadpanned tone in Rei's voice could not be anymore obvious.

Yang had a look of horror, as if Rei was actually considering her to be an idiot. "No, stupid! We didn't climb all the way to the third floor! That would be suicidal! What, do you think we're that stupid to make such an idiotic plan?"

Hm. Perhaps she had judged them wrong. Although they were still very young, they at least had the common sense to not put their lives in-

"We just climbed to the second floor windows!"

...Never mind. It appeared as though her suspicions were not wrong.

"...Okay. Would you mind telling me how you are planning to **leave** the facility?" Rei calmly asked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw her apprentice struggling to keep her laughter in.

Overconfident of their ability to escape, Yang laughed and yelled in a boastful voice, "The same way out, obviously! I mean it was smart enough to fool Professor Goodwitch, after all!"

"To fool whom may I ask, Ms. Xiao Long?"

The stern and somewhat annoyed voice made the entire team RWBY freeze where they were. No longer able to contain her laughter, Azure clutched her stomach as she laughed at the situation currently taking place.

"...Actually, we might be leaving in a coffin..." Yang whispered in a weak voice. The others were not faring much better, as they too had horrified looks.

"Good morning, Ms. Goodwitch." Rei greeted politely, the stoic expression still remaining on her face.

"Good morning to you too, Ms. Noire." Glynda returned the greeting, the frown and stern expression still remaining. "Would you mind telling me why there are currently four unexpected, unbehaved visitors in your room at the moment?"

"They were concerned of my recovery, so they came to see me. That is all." Rei stated matter-of-factly, to which Glynda sighed out of desperation.

Children sometimes...were very difficult to take care of.

Rubbing the bridge between her eyes, Glynda said, "The least they could have done was to ask for permission for one of us to escort them to your room, but they decided to choose the unrefined way of sneaking in and potentially disrupting the other patients."

"W-well, what about Azure? She's here too!" Yang argued in a desperate voice. Meanwhile, the other three had their eyes glued elsewhere, not wanting to partake in the heated argument.

The glare directed towards the group of teenagers deepened, causing all four to slowly back away from the professor. Finally, after what seemed to be an agonizing eternity, Professor Goodwitch curtly said, "Ms. Lylia had the decency of asking for my permission to check on her partner, Ms. Xiao Long, unlike the four of you. She is also her partner, so she is naturally given the chance of making sure her partner is fine."

The group, finally remembering Azure's presence, turned towards the girl. There, they saw Azure waving a hand at them while making a "you guys are so screwed" gesture.

"Well...you got me there." Yang awkwardly chuckled, a sheepish look on her face as she scratched the back of her head.

A sigh escaped from Glynda's mouth. Honestly, were children always a hassle to deal with? She never remembered facing such troubles before in her early days of teaching.

"I am willing to allow this one to slide, children. But," The hopeful looks on the students were immediately crushed as Glynda pointed her riding crop at them. "The next time I catch any of you sneaking into this place without the permission of a staff here, you will be severely punished, and I will show no mercy."

She finished her sentence with a vertical swipe from her weapon, making all members of team RWBY flinch. Taking deep breaths to control her rage, Glynda slowly said, "Very well. With all that out of the way, I suggest we step out so Ms. Noire and her friend have the time to-"

"Professor Goodwitch?"

The sudden question stopped everyone's movement. "Yes, Ms. Noire?" Glynda asked, curious of the student's inquiry.

"Could I ask for a few minutes with Ms. Schnee?" All eyes widened at the request, especially Weiss's for being called out like that. "There are some things I wish to discuss with her...regarding the event that took place yesterday."

A few seconds of consideration was all it took for Glynda to make her decision. "Very well. I will grant you five minutes."

"Thank you, professor." Rei bowed to the Professor from her position, to which Glynda merely nodded at the gesture.

"Come along, children. We will wait for your teammate outside." Hurrying them towards the door, Glynda took one last look at them before closing the door behind them with a single click.

* * *

Silence.

Silence.

Silence.

How long would it last? That was the question Weiss kept on asking herself as the three of them remained as still as statues: motionless and stone-gazed. She knew one of them would eventually speak out. Who it would be, she could only guess at this point.

"How do you feel?" Rei finally asked, breaking the momentary silence. Weiss blinked at the sudden question before regaining her composure and portraying a serious expression on her face.

"I am uninjured, if that is what you mean. Thanks to you, I-"

"You misunderstand my words," Weiss flinched at Rei's sudden interruption. It didn't help that the look Rei was sending her could have been interpreted as a glare. "In terms of physical health, you are perfectly fine. I made sure of that when I protected you from the explosion." Rei tilted her head to the side, a concerned look on her face. "It's your current mental state I am worried about."

Weiss was quick to protest against Rei's concern. After all, it wasn't her duty to be worried about her. "Wh-I'm perfectly fine! I-I was just a little shaken when that Grimm suddenly exploded! That's all!"

Another brief period of silence filled the room. Weiss, trying her best to keep the furious look on her face, continued to stare at Rei, who merely stared back at the girl. A few seconds of the silent exchange passed before Rei sighed, breaking the silence.

"...Azure. Please leave the room."

It took a brief moment for the others to understand her words. It took them another to realize what they meant. Her apprentice in particular.

"Wait-" Azure tried to protest, tried to reason with her master. Yet she knew it was futile when she heard the tone Rei used.

"That was not a request, Azure. I require an audience with Ms. Schnee alone." Rei calmly said, gesturing towards the door for her to leave.

Azure gritted her teeth in frustration, a shadow covering the expression on her face. She knew she was in no position to argue with her master, for she had agreed at the beginning to always follow her orders.

Of course, that didn't mean she didn't find at least some annoyance in some of her orders.

"...Tch. Fine." After considering her options, Azure relented in giving them some privacy. It didn't matter if she liked it or not: if her master deemed it to be necessary, she would follow.

She didn't hesitate to send a chill-shivering glare in Weiss's direction, though. And she definitely didn't hesitate to slam the door as loud as she could, the clatter of the door hitting steel echoing in the room.

Weiss blinked at what she had just witnessed. Then blinked again when she realized they were currently the only ones in the room.

"...Come here." Rei slowly gestured to the heiress, beckoning her to come closer. Weiss could do nothing but follow Rei's words as she slowly approached her. Whether it was out of fear or pressure, she would never know. For the next thing she knew, she was already by Rei's side, the girl feeling Weiss's hands.

"...You're shaking, Weiss. And your hands are so cold..." Rei murmured in what Weiss believed to be a concerned tone. Her suspicions were confirmed when she looked up, a genuine concerned look on her face. "Please, tell me how you truly feel right now."

It was at this moment that Weiss knew her emotions would get the best of her. The emotions she had been desperately trying to hold back. The emotions she swore she would never reveal to anyone.

"...Y-You could have died while protecting me." A tear escaped from the corner of her eye, and she made no attempt to hide it. Rei, confused at the sudden change in her persona, tilted her head and carefully wiped the tear off her face.

"I could have, but I knew the risks when it came to protecting you from the explosion. I have no regrets in preventing any possible injuries inflicted on you. Besides," She shrugged, ignoring the pain her neck was causing her. "I managed to escape alive, so I should count myself lucky that-"

"WHY ARE YOU SO KEEN IN HELPING ME!?"

The sudden yell from Weiss made Rei pause. Startled by her sudden outburst, Rei could simply stare at Weiss as she pulled away from Rei's grasp. The heiress had tears furiously streaming down her cheeks, her eyes red from the tears.

This was not the Weiss the files had described. Evidently, the image of a snooty, arrogant rich girl did not reach Rei's mind when they first met. She instead thought of Weiss as a composed, collected person who was in control of their emotions. But it seemed as though that image had shattered as well, for what stood in front of her was not the cocky, rich girl, nor the calm heiress that had met her expectations, but a girl who was vulnerable, scared, and confused.

"...Weiss?" Though her face displayed none of it, there was the recurring hint of concern in Rei's voice. It would only be a few moments later until the expression of concern would dawn on her face.

"First with the missing suitcase, then the Emerald Forest, then yesterday morning, and now the explosion!" Weiss nearly screamed out loud, her voice shrill with despair and anger. For once, Rei appreciated the medical room's walls being sound-proof. Who knew how much of their conversation would escape for outside ears to hear? "Why!? Why are you so kind to me!?"

Silence. Rei could only stare as Weiss started breathing heavily, her face red from all the shouting. Slowly, the heiress made her way back to the girl's side, grim determination on her face.

Her breathing became heavier with each step she took to approach Rei, her voice gasping for breath as it was now as dry as the desert. "...I-Is it b-because I'm the heiress of a famous company? Is that why I need saving? Because I-"

Her question was interrupted when Rei suddenly sprung at her, hand grasping at her arms. Thinking she was furious at her, Weiss merely flinched and closed her eyes tightly, waiting for whatever she was going to do to her.

She was not expecting for Rei to be hugging her, especially given her current condition. Eyes widening in shock, Weiss managed to stutter a few words before falling back to silence.

"W-Wh-"

"Do you remember what I told you the first time we met each other, Weiss?" When she saw Weiss shake her head, she sighed. Not out of annoyance or desperation, but out of exhaustion. "I saw you not as the heiress of a famous company or a snooty rich girl, but as a person who decided to walk down her own path, regardless of the obstacles in her way. That alone convinced me to help you."

Each word caused Weiss's eyes to widen a bit, only until they were the size of sausages at the end of Rei's sentence. No longer to hold back her feelings, she placed her face on Rei's shoulders and sobbed, tears escaping and dampening Rei's hoodie.

Rei waited patiently until the heiress was finished with her outburst. Humans, she learned, would need careful caring when placed in delicate situations such as these. One wrong move and the complete chain of emotions could come crumbling down.

So when Weiss lifted her head out of Rei's shoulders, an embarrassed look for what she had done, Rei allowed a small smile to grace her face as she wiped the remaining tears off the girl's face.

"Besides," She quietly said, earning a confused look from Weiss. "We are acquaintances, Weiss. Classmates, even friends. It is the duty of a friend to help those who they believe needs help, correct?"

"Y-You see me as a friend? B-But we've just met, and-"

"Dismiss these thoughts of hesitation, Weiss." The tears finally gone, Rei placed her hand on Weiss's and grasped it tightly, a gesture Weiss quickly returned. "You are someone I admire, and will continuously wish to protect. That is my role as a friend."

Silence filled the room once more. Weiss took the time to absorb Rei's words and slowly nodded her head in comprehension. Rei returned the gesture and squeezed her hand again for reassurance before glancing at the clock for the time.

"...It seems like our time is up. I suggest you return to your friends and head straight to class before Professor Goodwitch has a good reason in punishing you." Rei allowed a smirk to be displayed as she gently pushed the girl away, giving her the silent message.

"Yeah. That would be best for now." Weiss agreed, bowing in appreciation. "Thanks, Rei. You're...a really kind person."

"...Kind?"

The sudden change in Rei's demeanor and tone made Weiss look up. Had it been her imagination, or was there a glint in Rei's eyes?

"Rei?" Weiss cautiously asked, not wanting to upset her friend. Whatever she said, it had certainly disturbed Rei, causing her to break out of her usual blank persona.

"...It's nothing." The monotone voice returned, and the emptiness returned to Rei's eyes. "May I request something from you, Weiss?"

Taken aback by the sudden change, Weiss stuttered, "O-Of course."

"...Resolve your conflicts with Ruby and make amends to helping her as the team leader of team RWBY." When there was a brief look of hesitation in Weiss's eyes, Rei added, "Please Weiss. You're not the only one struggling here."

Weiss bit her lips. At the moment, Weiss did not know what her answer would be. She still hadn't forgiven her leader for her attitude in battle, but perhaps she would consider the possibility of helping her grow out of that irritating recklessness. After all, it was the least she could do to repay Rei for protecting her.

"...I'll see what I can do." She concluded. She would at least try, that much she would promise Rei.

Rei nodded silently, her eyes slowly closing as she rested against the bed. Weiss, not wanting to exhaust the girl anymore, quietly made her way to the door and silently shut it behind her.

Only until her footsteps were no longer audible did she open those eyes again. Rei grunted out of habit, waiting for the blood to do its work. The time finally allowed her to switch, and she would make good use of the chance given to her.

* * *

"So, how did your 'little talk' with Ice Queen go?" Azure allowed a sneer to appear as she watched team RWBY leave the medical wing with Professor Goodwitch. Nuisances, all of them. How anyone could put up with them, she had no idea.

The hoodie Rei was wearing covered the expression on her face. It was only when her apprentice turned her attention towards the window did she speak. "...She called me kind."

"...Did she now?" Had Rei been more attentive, she would have noticed the hint of concern in Azure's voice.

"Yes. But we all know that is a complete lie. For as long as we live, continuing to complete the missions given to us from The Operatives,"

Rei looked at her hands. For a moment, she thought they were cloaked with a red substance, The next, they were as clean as a whistle.

"We will never be able to wash our sins." She finished with a grimace.

* * *

Night occupied the sky when Rei left the medical wing. The lamps lining the paths were brimming with light, illuminating the areas beneath them. Each step she took echoed as her feet met the ground, the only sound in the still silence.

Well, besides the faint sound of a discussion being had near the front doors of Beacon Academy. Quickly checking around her for any suspicious bystanders, Rei let her curiosity get the best of her and approached the doors.

What she saw almost, and she would later admit to her apprentice she was very close to doing so, caused a small smirk to appear.

There in front of her, still in their uniforms, were Ruby and Weiss. The former had a sheepish look on her face, yet still kept a wide grin, while the latter portrayed an exasperated look. Though she couldn't quite hear what they were saying, the expressions clearly described the conversation they were having. And if she had to guess, Weiss had decided to follow her advice in consulting Ruby and resolving the conflict between the two of them.

"So you were also watching those two too, huh."

Recognizing the bearer of the voice, Rei turned around and greeted the person behind her. "Hello, Yang. I presume you also witnessed what happened."

"Yeah, I sure did." Yang smiled as she stood beside Rei, her gaze still directed towards Ruby and Weiss. "Can't say I really liked how Ice Queen handled the situation, but I'm just glad she apologized in the end. The last thing we needed on our team was more arguing."

Internally, Rei sighed in relief. So it was true that there had been some conflict arising between the team members of team RWBY. As long as it was resolved and team RWBY would finally be able to function as a single team together, that was all that mattered for now.

Well, until a certain exposure of one's secret, that is.

"That is good to hear," Rei broke the silent atmosphere. At this point, the two girls they had been observing had already went back inside to turn in for the night. "It seems they have come to terms with each other and agreed to help each other out."

Yang hummed in agreement. There was no doubt she could deny Rei's words; her words were supported by what they witnessed after all. And yet, there was some part of her which was still in denial that Weiss would openly apologize to Ruby. After all, what had transpired the past few days was not pretty to witness.

"Pretty bold move from Weiss, wouldn't you say so?" Earning a confused look from Rei, Yang continued, "I mean, the heiress of the Schnee Dust Company of all people agreed to receive help from my sister. I must admit, that's a new one."

Surprisingly, Rei found herself frowning at the remark. Though she knew Yang's comment had no ill intent, her reasoning behind her words was questionable. "You shouldn't judge someone from basic stereotypes, Yang," A tilt of the head was all she received from Yang, so she added, "Everyone needs help once in awhile. Some more than others, and some refusing to admit the truth."

"...Okay, I'm surprised you out of all people would admit that, Rei."

This time, the tilt of the head came from Rei as she raised an eyebrow. "Why should such a thing be so surprising, Yang? I am simply admitting the truth."

An amused scoff came from Yang. This girl, who was able to resolve the conflict in their team, couldn't see the answer already? That was definitely a surprise she did not see coming. "If you hadn't been paying attention, Rei, you're kinda 'Ms. Perfect' around here. Killing a Nevermore with just one strike, protecting Weiss and escaping alive, you seriously have, like, no flaws."

She expected some reaction from Rei. A tilt of the head, a frown, even an annoyed look on her face.

She didn't expect the girl to suddenly stare off into space, her eyes blank with no life in them.

"Perfect..." Rei murmured quietly to herself. To her side, Yang was alarmed to see her hand clench into a fist. It was the first time Rei had shown any indication of possessing aggression, especially towards such a small word. Later, she would realise it would be first time Rei had openly shown any gestures related to her emotions.

"Rei? Something I said bothering you?" Concern was evident in her voice, and it shoot Rei back to reality.

"...No, it's nothing," Shaking her head, Rei brought a hand under her chin in a question-like manner. "Although I must say something about your previous comment, Yang."

For some reason, Yang couldn't help but nod to her request. Knowing she now had her full attention, Rei gestured for them to being heading back to the dorms. As they walked, she took a deep breath and exhaled before speaking her mind.

"All humans have a fatal flaw inside themselves. Whether it be a physical disability or a sinful characteristic, it is believed that said flaw will bring destruction within themselves and destroy the human from the inside. Only by asking help from others will the possessor of the flaw be able to face their inner selves and admit their mistakes."

To say Rei's little speech left Yang speechless was an understatement. The blonde had her eyes as wide as they could be, filled with surprise and shock. She knew Rei was never one to think positively, always thinking of the reality of the situation and the results and consequences of her actions. But never in her life would she had thought the girl would go into such deep psychological thinking about morality and humanity.

Rei had the knowledge and wisdom of someone who exceeded her age. That fact alone scared her a bit.

But what truly scared her was how calm and collected Rei was as she spoke, as if she explained the same concept to others many times.

What did Rei have to go through in order to have her beliefs set on such harsh reality? It was a question that Yang wanted to ask, and one she wanted answered.

"...That was a whole lot of stuff to digest," Yang admitted, not having the will to ask the question in her mind. Rubbing the bridge between her eyes, she commented, "I swear, I don't even know how you think of half of the things you say."

Rei continued to frown. Was it strange of her to think of such things, or were humans really that blind to the reality of the world? Perhaps it was best to leave that question unasked. "These are my beliefs, Yang. You are not forced to follow them as if they were the universal rules."

Yang gave an uncertain nod, reflecting the thoughts in her mind. Eventually, she asked, "So, mind me asking a question?"

Rei nodded and gestured for the girl to propose her question. Taking a deep breath, Yang continued, "If everyone has a fatal flaw, just like you said, what's yours?"

Had Yang blinked, she would have missed the change in Rei's appearance.

The wind had suddenly picked up, blowing her hood down. Now that there was nothing covering her facial expression, Yang was alarmed to see what was revealed.

Pure hatred.

Anger flashed in her eyes, both hands clenched into fists. Her posture was stiff and rigid, as if the question served as a haunting reminder for her. But that wasn't the thing that creeped Yang out.

It was the smile Rei had on her face.

A smile that opposed the expression she currently had. A smile that sent shivers down her spine. A smile that, alone, would even scare off the Grimm if the two encountered each other.

Answering her question, Rei slowly said, "That...is something I cannot tell you." Was it the first time Yang heard hesitation in Rei's voice? "It is something personal, Yang, and I do not feel comfortable of revealing what my flaw is."

The deadpanned tone in Rei's voice made a bead of sweat drop from Yang's forehead. It was evident Rei wanted to drop the subject at hand. But why?

Taking a deep breath, Yang decided to do what her inner instincts were telling her to do. She had already put her friend in an uncomfortable position; it would be unwise to push the girl even more. "Guess it's understandable. To be fair, I probably wouldn't want anyone knowing about my own flaws as well."

By now, the pair had reached the hallway of the dorms and were about to part ways. "Been a late nice for the two of us, so I'm gonna turn in." Yang paused before asking, "You're going to be fine, right Rei?"

"...Of course. I simply need a bit of rest." Rei softly answered as she pulled her hoodie over her head.

Yang nodded, understanding how much fatigue her friend must have been feeling right now. "Can't blame you, since you've just recovered." Patting her on the back, Yang grinned and began heading towards her room. "Well, see you tomorrow!"

Watching Yang's figure disappear around the corner of the hallway, Rei felt something in her heart. Was this what people called "guilt"?

"...I must look like a messiah to them, huh." Rei chuckled bitterly as she made her way to meet Azure. There would be interesting stories to be told to her apprentice. "If only they knew..."

She left the sentence unfinished, shaking her head twice to clear her head of these useless thoughts. There was no point in being concerned of her status amongst team RWBY.

Right now, she had a job to do.

* * *

Flashing lights. Loud music and noises. Cheerful yells and laughter. Affectious actions and comments.

These things surrounded the cloaked figure as they quickly and quietly entered the club, scanning the area in search for someone. It came to their surprise when they took a step and soon found themselves surrounded by armed goons, each man either holstering a firearm of some sort, be it a machine gun or a shotgun, or a red-bladed katana.

"Whoa, whoa. Calm your horses, everyone. It's not her."

A gruff voice entering the fray, a man steered his way through the crowd of goons. Hearing his words, the men all nodded before returning to their usual posts in the club, never leaving their gaze on the figure. Some of them backed off, yet stayed at a reasonable distance to interfere if a scuffle were to occur.

The man in question sighed, rubbing a hand through his hair. "Sorry about that," He apologized, to which the figure merely nodded at his apology. "Things have been rather rough these past days, so we decided to up our security and staff. As you can see," He gestured around the club, "They do the job pretty well."

"Indeed. They are very keen on protecting this place." The figure noted as they took another look around. The place was definitely upgraded and better secured than the last time they visited the club.

The man smiled smugly, quickly adjusting his red tie in the process. "Yeah, well I gave them an offer they couldn't refuse and they chose to work under me." Flashing a smile, he clapped his hands together. "Enough of that, though. Who are you and what's your reason for coming to my place?"

"I believe you are the owner of the establishment. Hei Xiong, or more appropriately, Junior, correct?" The figure asked politely, to which the man in question nodded back.

"Junior's the name I prefer to stick to these days," Junior answered, confirming the figure's suspicions of the man's identity. "Now, you gonna answer my questions or what?"

It took a few seconds for the figure to reply. "My identity is irrelevant and my reason for being here is unimportant. What is important," They took a step forward, intruding Junior's personal space and looking at him directly in the eyes. "Is the job I am going to give to you."

Out of the corner of his eyes, Junior saw his men tense and carefully approach the pair. He gestured them to stop where they were: nothing violent had occurred yet and he would very much liked to keep it that way.

Turning back to the figure who had just subtly threatened him, his expression quickly turned to a cold one as Junior growled, "I don't think you understand how things work here, bub," He pointed a finger at the figure to emphasis the last word. "You pay me, and I provide you information. You don't, then get the hell out of-"

A shuffle of clothing and an object appeared in his gaze. Surprised by the sudden action, Junior quickly stepped back, soon realizing the object in matter was a black suitcase.

"...Will this be sufficient?" The figure murmured as they opened the suitcase. What was inside made Junior's eyes bulge out.

"What the f-" The owner of the club mumbled, disbelief towards the contents inside the suitcase. "H-how much of this are you giving to me?"

"The entire quantity."

Junior gaped at the answer. What he was currently looking at were enormous stacks of lien, packaged tightly in composed towers, their height as tall as a vase. How much money there was, he couldn't tell: the amount must have exceeded the millions.

"Dude, that's enough to provide an entire village with sufficient funds..." Junior finally found his voice, dry with the amount of shock he just experienced. Looking at the figure before him, he uttered, "Who exactly the fuck are you?"

Instead of answering his question, the figured continued their conversation. "Irrelevant. Now, since I have presented my payment, I expect you to fulfill your role."

Junior narrowed his eyes. Did this person really expect greed to be the driving force of his actions? They would need to replan their approach if they did. "And that is what exactly?"

Searching their pockets, the figure pulled out a photograph. They presented it to Junior and asked, "Do you recognise this person?"

Squinting at the picture, Junior inspected the image. It didn't take long before he identified who the person was.

"Yeah...Yeah, I saw her with Torchwick the other day," A dark expression made its way to the man's face. That day had been one of his more darker ones. "The bitch had the decency to insult my staff and made a complete fool of myself." Junior growled at the memory. Recalling the event made his throat seethe with acid. "Why do you ask? Do you need me to kill her or something like that?"

"Negative," To his surprise, the figure shook their head. "All I need you to do is to observe this woman."

It took a moment for him to register what the figure said. It took another moment for him to properly understand what they said.

"...Come again?" He couldn't help the question escape his mouth.

The figure must have expected his confusion, for they pulled out of a list of instructions and handed it to Junior. "Assign your men to various parts of Vale and make sure that they supervise the selected areas. In the other case I have here," Junior blinked. Was that suitcase always right next to them? "Are security cameras and drones for your men to use. Once they catch a glimpse of this woman, make sure they inform you of his location so you may contact me." A sudden thought must have reached the speaker's mind, for they quickly added, "I have also added my contact number in the case, should such an occurrence happen."

"...All this for one person. Why? What makes this girl so important to you."

His supposed client didn't take long to reply back. "That is unnecessary for you to know. For now, just know that she is my target and I intend to eliminate her."

"Then why not hire some hitmen and assassins on her?" It was true: hiring mercenaries was not uncommon and was far less cheaper than what this person was offering him. Granted, Junior appreciated the amount of lien this person was offering, but even the less logical people would choose his proposed option. "You'd save a lot more money and time, plus you'd actually be able to kill the person with that plan, unlike the long-ass, complicated one you just gave to me."

"None of you would be able to kill her. She is someone you do not wish to face in battle."

The answer he received caused him to frown. Junior knew him and his crew were not the strongest of the bunch, but they were pretty reliable fighters when the situation came.

"And you think you're able to beat her?" The question earned a noise from the figure, one that could easily be identified as a scoff.

"My strength surpasses hers, my abilities overwhelm hers, and my power makes hers cower in fear. I believe that alone is enough to ensure my victory."

Junior raised a brow at this: this person had some serious guts. He would give them that for sure.

"Besides," The figure quietly added, barely loud enough for him to hear. "I wish to make sure she pays for the crimes she has done."

An exchange of silence remained for a few seconds, the two of them staring at each other with It was Junior who finally broke the silence, sighing in dismay.

"So," He slowly said in an attempt to understand what his client wanted him to do. "You don't want any of us fighting him."

The figure nodded. "No fighting. Simply spectating and observing her movements and actions."

"...You know what? Fuck it." Junior threw his arms up in dismay of changing his client's mind. "I'll do it. Just make sure I don't regret this and it turns out to be another mistake that comes biting my ass in the future."

"There is no need for you to be concerned of your safety. I will ensure that no harm will reach you or your establishment." The figure assured Junior. "So, I believe that we have a deal?"

Junior sighed. Despite the comfort his client gave him, he still had a feeling this was going to bite him in the ass sooner or later. But business was business, after all. Risks were meant to be taken at times.

"Yep. I guess we do."

"...Splendid. It will be a pleasure to work with you."

The figure proposed a hand forward, to which Junior returned the gesture by shaking their hand.

"Same with you, I guess."

A wave of nausea passed through Junior, resulting with the withdrawal of his hand. What the heck just happened?

His client ignored the sudden action and packed their things. "Now if you excuse me, I have places to be. I will check on you tomorrow morning to make sure you have precisely followed my instructions with great care."

"Sure, sure. Whatever." Junior grumbled, rubbing his forehead in discomfort. The nausea disappeared, but the dizziness still remained.

As they neared the exit of the club, the figure suddenly stopped and whirled around, a hiss distinct in their voice. "And do not even think of double crossing behind my back, Junior," The cold tone in the figure's voice sent shivers down Junior's spine. "I will know, I will find you, and I will make you pay."

With their words said, the figure left, leaving a shaken Junior behind. He gulped. It was clear what he needed to do.

* * *

The figure exited the club, stepping into the dimly lit streets of downtown Vale. Raising their gaze to the sky, they sighed as the shattered moon came into view.

"Business...as usual, I suppose."

A warping noise was heard as they finished their sentence. The flickering of lights revealed all that was left of the figure: mere shadows on the ground.


	7. Illusions and Lies

**So...this is kind of awkward…**

…

 **Sigh...Okay, let me explain a few things…**

 **If you guys have been paying attention to the dates, you may have noticed that the last time I updated this story was February 1st, meaning it's been around one and a half months since I last updated.**

 **Now, you may be asking: why? If you are asking that question, then I will gladly explain why. If not, then...I guess I'll still explain.**

 **Well for starters, I kinda had some difficulty writing this story, mainly because I had to cut some things from my rough draft so this chapter wouldn't drag on forever. Then, I decided I didn't like how it was structured, so I rewrote it from scratch.**

 **The second reason is because, well, I kinda started another story.**

 **...Please don't kill me?**

 **The story was something I had kept on thinking about and constantly debated on whether or not I should brainstorm a few chapters about it. Finally, I decided to write a few chapters about it and, well…**

 **...It somehow has more support than this story.**

 **...Kinda depressing since I've spent more effort on this story than the other. Oh well. That's just how life is.**

 **But enough about that. Let's get this chapter started, shall we?**

 **And three...two...one...go.**

* * *

 **Illusions and Lies**

Luck must have had a grudge on her. Possibly fate, destiny, and all those other things that revolved around a person's life as well.

At least, that was what Rei believed to be the truth.

Finding herself and her apprentice on a bullhead headed towards downtown Vale, weapons equipped and ready to be used, time for her seemed like an eternity. One second felt like an hour, and Rei could only wonder how things had turned up like this.

With a sigh, Rei turned towards her apprentice, currently staring out of the bullhead, and voiced her thoughts. "How did we find ourselves in this situation again, Azure?"

She remained silent as her name was called. When Rei called for her again, Azure muttered, "Well, Ozpin suddenly decided to send us to find some mysterious killer, apparently." A look of annoyance accompanied with a tone full of venom could be seen and heard from the girl. "Why he couldn't have sent qualified, experienced huntsmen is beyond my knowledge." She finished her sentence with a growl, frustration escaping her breath.

Azure was indeed annoyed with the current circumstances they were dealing with.

Then again, Rei couldn't blame the girl for losing her temper the previous day. The amount of time that could have been used to prepare future attacks and create plans in protecting their targets had gone to waste in favour for a little mission that the staff at Beacon had deemed to be important. If Azure wasn't annoyed with the given situation, she would have been certainly surprised.

Now that she remembered, there was something off with Ozpin. Despite the perpetual persona he usually wore, it was clear the headmaster had other intentions that were not related to his task of assigning them a mission. She would have liked to uncover what these intentions were.

Unfortunately, their job contradicted her own intentions. And that job was to remain hidden, blending in with the other students while waiting for the perfect time to strike.

"Indeed. That man is full of many mysteries."

With that said, Rei closed her eyes and began to recall the previous exchange the two parties had yesterday morning.

* * *

"Sorry for interrupting, but you want us to what?"

Glynda glared at the girl who had rudely interrupted her. "A simple task assigned to your team, Ms. Lylia." She replied through gritted teeth. "We are giving you a mission to visit downtown Vale in search of information on a recent criminal that has been brought to our attention."

They currently stood in Headmaster Ozpin's office, Rei and Azure facing Glynda and Ozpin. Earlier this morning, the pair had been called down to Ozpin's office for a quick briefing on a mission they had been assigned to, something both of them had not seen coming. For starters, it was rare for the academy to assign missions to first year students, let alone a team which only consisted of two members. Additionally, one would think that given the past events which had transpired at Beacon Academy, Rei and Azure would have been excluded from such activities.

Nevertheless, the pair went to their designated location, curious of what they had in store for them. Thus, it was in Ozpin's office where they found themselves, albeit things were not looking good so far.

Returning to the topic at hand, Glynda opened her scroll and projected the mission information for the others to see. "Delphonse Inition El Amor, or the name he likes to go by these days, D.I.E., has been declared responsible of several kidnappings happening across Vale. The kidnappings include children from the ages 8 to 12," At the mention of the kidnappings, Glynda took a quick glance at the pair to see if they had reacted in any manner. When there was no evident change in their expressions, she continued, "And have been reported missing ever since. We would like you, team NA, to investigate for any leads on the case."

"...And why are we involved with this?" Azure's cautious tone could be heard once more, a warning for Glynda to think over her answer before speaking it.

"...The police and detective agencies have reached a dead end with this case, and they are turning towards the huntsmen academies for assistance." Glynda slowly answered, watching the student attentively. "Normally, we would assign these missions to one of our older and more experienced teams, but they are currently all occupied with their own missions to take care of. So naturally," She scrolled through the number of teams on her scroll and picked out team NA, "We decided to assign the mission to the most experienced first year team. As it turns out, we give you two the role to complete the mission and find the whereabouts of the culprit."

"...Okay. Let me repeat my question: why are we involved with this?"

The question catching her off guard, Glynda stumbled with her words before asking, "Surely you are concerned of the well being of the children, Ms. Lylia!" When she received no response, the look of horror slowly crept on her face. Did these children not care about the wellbeing of the children's lives? "We must act quickly before the criminal finds another victim and abducts them from their family! Why would you ask such a question?! Do you not realize the severity of the situation?!"

"Why?" Azure scoffed at the question. Did they really need to ask such a ridiculous question? "Because I refuse to believe that the academy doesn't have any other teams they could send. And do you know what that means?" Her eyes narrowed when she received a confused look from Glynda. So they decided to play the ignorant role here, huh? She was fine with that. "That means you two have been lying to us from the very start. And," This time, she took no effort in hiding the spiteful tone in her voice. " **I hate liars.** "

A bead of sweat slowly dripped from Glynda's forehead. Truth be told, the idea of testing their abilities in battle did come up once or twice as they were still curious of what the pair was capable of. However, the main purpose of putting them on a mission this early on was because both of them already had experience in the real world. Their portfolios had clearly stated so, thus both Ozpin and herself had agreed it would be best to assign the mission to one of their most experienced first year teams instead of waiting for another of the more experienced teams to take the role.

"I assure you," Glynda spoke with great caution, not wanting to upset Azure any further. "Professor Ozpin and I speak the truth. All other teams are already on separate missions, forcing us to-"

"AND I CALL BS ON THAT!"

Glynda winced at the sheer volume in Azure's voice. No longer holding back her anger, Azure yelled, "Do you not think we haven't noticed the staff observing our every moves, taking notes on everything we say, and recording every fight we've had?! We know you 'huntsmen' are suspicious of us ever since the day of the initiation, and have continued watching us every single day! So forgive me for being a bit tad suspicious of you two for suddenly appearing out of nowhere and delivering us this much information!"

"Ms. Lylia!" Glynda retorted, a furious look on her face. It had been years since a student had the gall to straight up go against her. "Control your temper else you shall face the punishments for disobedience!"

Wrong choice of words.

"You think just because you have authority here means you have complete control over us?! You think you can decide what we can and can't do?!" Azure's eyes flared with fury. the tone in her voice now seething with venom. "Like we're some kind of puppet that-"

"Azure. Enough."

The room suddenly went quiet, each person's head turning slightly towards Rei's direction. Had Rei just asked her partner to concede?

In Azure's head, anger and confusion flooded her mind. She opened her mouth to argue, her expression furious at Rei for simply giving in like this. "But-"

"I said," This time, the cold tone in her voice did not go unnoticed. " **That's enough.** "

To say the other individuals in the room were not surprised at the turn of events would be very unlikely. Though Ozpin's expression did not change a single bit, excluding the raise of an eyebrow at the shift in Rei's tone, Glynda could not help but express shock at the sheer amount of harshness in Rei's voice.

As for Azure, the girl was left speechless at the fact that her master had to raise her tone in order to make her point clear. Hands clenching into fists and her expression hidden by her hair, she relented.

"...Of course." Hearing this, Rei gave a sigh of relief and a nod of thanks before turning towards Glynda and bowing as a matter of forgiveness.

"...I apologize for my partner's harsh attitude and words. I promise it will not happen again." The emotionless tone returned, as did the blank expression on her face.

"Thank you for the apology, Ms. Noire. I too should apologize as well, as I believe I have spoken out of term there." Pushing her glasses upward a bit, she continued, "Nevertheless, what we speak is the truth. We require your assistance, and time is of the essence."

Tick, tock. The sound of the gears turning in Ozpin's office echoed as the silence stretched on. Finally, Rei gave them their answer.

"We understand." She said with a brief nod, "We will take the mission. When will we leave?"

With a sigh of relief, Glynda opened her scroll once again and selected a file. "You have today to prepare. Tomorrow morning, a bullhead will come pick you up and transport you to Vale. From there, we suggest you simply survey the area and search for any suspicious activity." From here, the stern look returned, only to be matched with the solemn tone in her voice. "If you believe you have found where the kidnapper is lurking, immediately contact us via scroll. Reinforcements will be sent at once. Do not engage with the kidnapper, for he is high above both of your combat skills."

"Of course." At this response, Glynda narrowed her eyes. Were her eyes playing tricks with her, or did the look in Rei's eyes change? "Is there anything else we need to know?"

Glynda shook her head. Though she wanted to ask more regarding their reasons for their hesitation, those questions could be saved for another day. "Additional information on the mission will be sent to your scrolls tomorrow. You are dismissed."

Rei nodded after being notified of this, and bowed out of courtesy. Azure followed suit, albeit a bit forced. Nothing left to discuss, they begun to make their way towards the exit, thoughts now focused on the mission given to them.

"Ms. Noire."

For the first time during the entire conversation, Ozpin spoke, his words resulting in a curious look from Rei. "Heed Glynda's words carefully: do not engage with the enemy. He is someone you cannot defeat."

If there was any sign of disbelief from Rei, she did not show it. "Understood, sir." She nodded and followed after Azure, closing the doors behind them with a heavy slam.

* * *

"Pieces of shit. All of them."

The sudden foul language from her apprentice brought Rei back to the present. Cracking an eye open, she observed quietly as Azure twirled a lock of her hair around her finger, the occasional sound of flesh and bone slamming against metal as she brought her fist down onto the side of her seat.

"You should feel proud for taking such an honorable role!" She imitated Glynda's voice in a crude manner. "Huntsman and huntresses would die to hold such a position! Show some dignity, would you?"

Bitter laughter followed as her usual sarcastic tone was heard. "What a load of bullshit..."

Rei merely shook her head, deciding not to comment on Azure's foul language. It was irrelevant anyways; if it did not interfere with the mission's progress, then she saw no reason to correct her apprentice.

What did matter was the outburst Azure had yesterday. An outburst like that could lead to loss of control. And like many others whom she was assigned to, a loss of control always lead to destruction and despair.

"I simply cannot understand your anger, Azure." Rei finally spoke, her sudden voice startling her apprentice. "Were we not instructed to keep our emotions hidden? Our mind clear from distractions? Surely you would know better than to lash out at our professors."

Azure blinked, blinked again, and finally said, "Ignoring the fact that you're one of the only few who are capable of doing that Rei, I find it both astounding and strange if you can't find anything annoying out of this situation."

"Please elaborate." Rei deadpanned, causing Azure to shake her head in hopelessness of making her message clear.

This was what separated the two. Skill was one thing, but the mere fact that Rei could keep her emotions in check in any given situation was something that Azure both admired and despised. Sure, it proved to be an asset during the missions, but what about when they were in the public eyes? To others, Rei would appear as a calm, collected individual who knew what to do no matter what could happen. She was like a messiah to them, and they either adored or cursed her for her polite, respectful attitude.

However, Azure knew that beyond the mask Rei constantly wore was someone who would never know what happiness would be like. Nor experience the pains of sadness, or the sudden flow of adrenaline from anger and fury. One could say Rei was like a blank canvas: you could paint anything on her and she would easily adapt to the change, appearing as a perfect masterpiece.

So it saddened Azure when she knew her master would never be anything but a machine that would only perform its given tasks and nothing else. Rei could be so much more than this, and yet the restrictions set on her prevented her from doing so.

After all, it was her fault Rei had became like this. If she hadn't been so arrogant, so oblivious, he would-

Azure gritted her teeth and shook her head rapidly. This was **not** the time to be reminiscing in the past: her demons would be taken care of another time.

"Well for starters," Azure began, pausing when Rei gave her a questioning look. However, she made a waving motion, prompting her to continue. "We've been separated from our main targets, meaning we can't keep a close eye on them. In addition, because this was so abrupt, we barely had anytime to prepare a plan to monitor them." This was when the annoyed expression on Azure's face returned. "So, this just leaves our targets wide open for **him** to strike and turn this whole world into chaos and destruction. And I highly doubt he would let a chance like this escape."

She expected the questioning look to return to Rei's face. The raise of an eyebrow, the tilt of the head, maybe even the usual sigh coming out of her mouth.

She didn't expect her master to continue speaking with the usual monotone voice.

"There is something else that is bothering you, Azure. Please do not keep this information to yourself."

Her cheeks suddenly red, Azure turned away slightly as she coughed into her fist. After struggling with an answer, Azure awkwardly admitted, "...I also hate being told what to do."

Silence filled the bullhead, silence that Azure took as a sign to continue speaking. "It's...frustrating. Not being in control of what you can and can't do, that is. They don't know the power we both have, and yet they have the gall to act as if we're expendable to them..." She mumbled the last part out, hands clenching into fists and nails biting into her skin.

"...There are two things I would like to point out to you, Azure." Rei held her left hand out.

"One," She lifted one finger to further her point, "We are in disguise here. They do not know our real identities. To them, we are simply kids who have had a tragic past and a resolve to become stronger in order to avenge our kinship. Do not blame them for misjudging us: they have all the reason to believe we still have much to learn from them."

Anger coursed through Azure's body and mind. How could her master still continue to stand the nuisances they were causing?! Were it not for them, they would have guaranteed the safety of their "targets"! Did she now realize what they could have potentially done?!

She opened her mouth to argue, but Rei continued, ignoring the sounds of protest coming from her apprentice. "I know how frustrating it may be, how much of a nuisance it appears to be. But please Azure, try to keep your emotions in check. We all know what happened the last time one of us allowed our emotions to escape, and we definitely want to avoid another incident like that."

"...Yeah...I know." Azure relented, eyes downcast at the acknowledgement of her mistake. It was one thing to simply lash out against others, losing any sort of control of one's emotions. But to meet the disapproval of her master, no less Rei out of people, made Azure want to crawl in a corner and hide in shame.

Distracted by her thoughts, Azure didn't notice Rei frown at the sight of her current state, nor did she notice her master slowly approach her. Only until Rei had pulled her into her grasp and hugged her tightly did she finally recognize her presence.

She also noticed how close they were to each other.

"Rei, you don't have to-" Azure tried to protest, tried to squirm out of her grasp. Yet Rei simply hushed her, tightening her hold on Azure so she couldn't squeeze her way out. Of course, she made sure not to cause any pain to her apprentice: this was meant to calm her, not harm her.

A few seconds later, after Azure finally relented and joined her master in acknowledging each other's presence, Rei asked if her apprentice was okay. She was concerned as to why Azure suddenly turned her head away from her, hiding her face from Rei's sight.

She was also worried why her body temperature rose at an abnormal rate.

What she received was a rapid nod and a shaky answer. "...T-Thanks." Azure stuttered, trying to keep her suddenly dry mouth from spilling out words.

A few seconds of uncomfortable silence, at least for Azure, passed. "Sorry, what was your second point?" Azure asked, trying to get back to the main subject of their conversation. Rei didn't need tos stare at her flustered state. Nor wonder why she constantly looked in the other direction right now.

Tapping a finger against the side of her cheek as if remembering a crucial point, Rei said, "Ah yes. I remember now." Turning towards Azure, she asked, "Did you honestly believe I didn't send someone to look out for them already?"

If there was a confused look on Azure's face, it was certainly displayed through her questioning tone. "But...how? We didn't have any time to contact the Operatives, and-"

"Check my current status please."

If the abrupt request from Rei startled Azure, she did not show any sign of discomfort before scanning her. A few seconds later, Azure's voice was heard after she finished the scanning, her tone filled with disbelief and astonishment.

"...Either what you did was the most brilliant thing so far...or the most risky move that could end very badly for all of us."

Rei grimaced in agreement. In normal circumstances, she would have contacted the Operatives to send one of their colleagues over to supervise their "targets". But seeing as though there was barely any time to do so, she had to improvise. "I know. I knew the risks, the consequences of my actions. And yet, this was the only possible action left to take."

"But...to send **them** out of all people?" She flinched when Rei gave her a stern look. Perhaps her tone was a bit too harsh. "I-I mean, I don't think they're a bad person or anything, but are they really suited for this kind of job?!"

"...Out of all the people I could have contacted, Azure, they were the only one that would not strike fear to other humans."

"...Can't argue with that, I guess." Azure admitted after a moment of silence passed.

They spent the rest of the trip in silence.

* * *

The weekend, a time for students to relax from the hard week of studying and working. A time to travel, sleep, talk, and generally have fun.

And team RWBY was certainly no exception to this golden rule.

They currently found themselves exiting the hangar of the bullheads, headed towards the streets of downtown Vale. The group had prepared many plans to spend their weekend on, each of them excited for what would be in store for them.

Well, all but one of them, actually.

"Sigh."

A weary sigh escaped Ruby. A sigh that did not go unnoticed from the others.

"Feeling down again, Ruby?" Yang asked,

Ruby merely grumbled in response, in which Yang simply grinned. "Can't really blame you, sis. Considering how much time you spent seeing them off, it's no wonder you're feeling a bit lonely today."

Out of the four of them, Ruby had been the most reluctant to see the pair off. In fact, she had practically begged them to make sure they stayed safe. "It's not really that though..."

She paused, as if hesitant to ask her next question. But if words were not spoken, then answers would not be received.

"Guys, were Rei and Azure really ready to go on a mission like this?" When she received confused looks from her teammates, Ruby continued her point, "First years aren't supposed to take missions like that, and they just recovered from what happened these last few weeks ago."

This time it was Blake who replied to Ruby's worries. "We have to trust them, Ruby. If we didn't believe in them, we wouldn't really consider ourselves to be friends with them, now would we?" As she spoke, Blake flipped a page of her book and added, "After all, it's far too late to change their minds, so the only thing we can do is to wish them good luck and hope for the best."

Reassurance returned, Ruby cheerfully yelled in agreement, "Y-Yeah! I know they'll succeed in their mission!" The sight of their leader restored to her gleeful self made the others chuckle in amusement: it wasn't team RWBY if there wasn't a cheerful Ruby with them.

"With that out of the way, what are we exactly supposed to do now?" Blake asked, eyes still burrowed in her book. "They did tell us not to worry about it, but to enjoy our weekends to the fullest."

Spotting the opportunity to input an idea, Weiss gladly intervened. "Well, since midterms are approaching fast and we have plenty of free time, I propose we-"

"The heiress suggests to study and work on the weekends. How unsurprising..."Yang's sarcastic tone could be heard, making Weiss blush in embarrassment.

"Hey!" Weiss snapped back, outrage clearly painted on her face. "For your information, I was going to say we could visit some of those shops you're interested in so we could relax! But apparently, you think it's a bad idea!" She finished her last sentence with her arms folded together and her head directed the other way, an attempt to hide the expression on her face.

A moment of silence passed. Then another. Curious, Weiss took a quick peek at her friends, only to be surprised when they had stopped walking and had looks of disbelief displayed on their faces.

"...You were going to seriously suggest that? You, out of all people, would visit a place that wasn't related to education and work?" Yang asked in disbelief, as if the idea was unbelievable to begin with. Weiss merely flushed in response, obviously annoyed from their judgement.

"Wh-Why is that so surprising?! I know how to relax!" When she received silence as her response, she hastily added, "I do!"

"Why do I find that highly unbelievable?" Blake dryly stated, the others nodding with her in agreement.

"Shut up!"

Ruby could not help but give a sheepish look. So far, things were looking...great. Probably? "W-Well, if we can't make up our minds," She proposed, trying to prevent future quarrels from happening, "How about we visit-"

"L-LOOK OUT!"

How things had became what they were in the next few seconds, Ruby could only remind her past self a simple thing.

Watch where you're going.

One second, they were wrapping up their conversations and continuing their trip through downtown Vale. The next thing she knew, they were all on the ground, sprawled out as if a truck had slammed into them and smeared them flat like pancakes.

Somehow, they weren't the only ones on the ground. Bags of various sorts laid all around them, varying in sizes and shapes. And in the middle of all the mess was one more person, no doubt the cause of the incident.

"Ugh." Weiss was the first one to recover, stumbling to get back up. Falling to the hard ground definitely gave her a headache.

It also gave her a reason to chew out whoever had crashed into them

Annoyance filled her tone, Weiss turned to look at the person who decided that it was fine to rudely bump into them. "Hey, watch where you're-"

She expected the person to apologize to them. A simple, perhaps frantic at best, apology in exchange for forgiveness for what they did.

She certainly did not expect rapid speaking and stuttering from what appeared to be a young girl. A young girl with a very oversized white coat.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" The person bowed their head, voice trembling in fear as they pleaded for them to accept their apology. "I-I was in a rush, a-and I w-wasn't looking where I was going, and-"

"Hey, hey!" Yang interrupted, rushing to the person's side to help them up. "It's okay! No one's hurt after all, so no harm done!" This was immediately followed by a scowling to Weiss. "Jeez, Weiss! Mind what you say next time!"

How did she suddenly become the villain in this?! And why was everyone giving her disappointed looks as if she spoken out of line?!

...Well, she guessed she did sound a bit harsh, but weren't they the victims in this scenario?

"W-Well, how was I supposed to know this would happen?!" Her retort was met by even more disappointed looks from her teammates as they began to clean the mess around them.

"That's still no excuse for your poor attitude..." Blake trailed off, picking a package up and handing it to the person as they nodded in thanks.

...She supposed she did owe an apology. After all, nobody enjoyed being yelled at by other people.

Sighing, Weiss bowed and said, "...I apologize for snapping at you like that..."

"N-No!" Weiss looked up, surprised, when the person shook their head in disagreement. "It w-was my fault after all, and-"

"Okay, look!" Yang brought the conversation to a halt, her arms crossed in the shape of an x. "It was just an accident! Nothing more, nothing less! So, let's put whatever happened before in the past now, okay?"

It seemed as though the person could come to terms with that, for they shyly noded in agreement. "O-Okay..."

Ruby smiled, glad that everything had been resolved without much hassle."So, with that out of the way, what's your name?" When the person didn't answer back, Ruby pressed on with a cheerful voice, "Come on, no need to be shy! We're not gonna bite you or anything!"

The person looked at each one of them before finally speaking their name.

"...N.S."

* * *

When the pair had finally reached the borders of downtown Vale, it took no difficulty to find their target's location. If this was meant to be difficult, then Rei had the temptation to scoff at the idea of a "challenge".

After all, how could you hide from someone who had the power to control fate itself?

"So...this is it." Azure commented at the sight of the building glaring down upon them. "Pretty easy spot to find. Don't know why the police couldn't find this place since it stands out this much."

...Apparently, her apprentice forgot she had the ability to sense other people's presences.

"You forget, Azure, that the others cannot sense other people's presences. Your abilities give you an unfair advantage." Rei pointed out, making her apprentice flush in embarrassment when she realized Rei was right.

"...Shut up." Azure muttered, trying to hide the embarrassed look on her face. Rei decided to ignore her last comment and turned her attention towards the building.

"Nevertheless, we have located our target's location." A curious look suddenly appeared on her face. "Hmm..."

Azure frowned, her composure returning. It was odd to see Rei in a state like this. "Rei?"

"...We have reached a standpoint, a place where our actions could affect our future," Rei finally spoke, her hand placed under her chin in a contemplative pose. "Now, here's the question we have been asking ourselves this entire trip."

"Do we contact Ozpin and wait until reinforcements arrive, potentially losing our mysterious killer? Or..." She paused, already knowing Azure would finish the remainder of her question for her.

"Do we take him down ourselves and see if he knows anything about **him**?" Azure watched Rei attentively, prepared to follow any order she would give to her.

There was a moment of silence before the pair simultaneously reached the same conclusion.

"I think we both know the answer to the question." Rei brought out her scroll and gave it to Azure. "If you would be so kind, Azure..."

For the first time in awhile. Azure allowed herself to smirk. Sometimes, she was very grateful for what her master would allow her to do. " **With pleasure**."

Using her ability, Azure formed one of her cages around the scroll, albeit there was no intention of protecting the object in the cage this time. Without a second thought, she destroyed the scroll in a blink of an eye, crumpling it up as if it were made out of paper. As she handed it back to her master, who then pocketed in her hoodie, Rei merely sighed.

Today would be another one of those days, huh?

"There's no turning back now. Let us begin the mission."

They entered the building.

* * *

"Is something bothering you, Ruby?" N.S. curiously asked as they continued walking down the main avenue of downtown Vale.

After finally introducing themselves to the group, they had found out that N.S. had originally planned to visit the main avenue armory for a weapon upgrade. Since Ruby also had the intention to visit the shop, as well as getting a glimpse of N.S.'s weapon, she decided to leave the group and accompany N.S. to the armory.

Her companion's voice bringing her out of her daze, Ruby gave a small smile before she shook her head. "Nah, it's nothing N.S." She paused, then added, "At least, nothing you need to worry about. It's just something that's been on my mind today."

Though not convinced of her words, N.S. decided not to press for anymore information. After all, it was one of the first lessons they learnt from their master. If people wanted to be left alone, leave them be, regardless of how worried one may be of the other person. Interference in certain situations could sometimes lead to disaster. "W-well, if you say so..."

Nodding her head, Ruby decided to change the topic of their conversation. The more she thought about Rei and Azure, the more worried she became of their well being. "So," She asked, gesturing to the store a couple of blocks away, "You said you wanted to visit this place right? What kinda weapon do you need?"

"Um..." N.S.'s reluctance to respond could not have been any more clear. "It's more like a repair to my current weapon. That's why I have all these parts with me." N.S. gestured to the bags they were carrying with them, then forced their gaze downwards. "...It's also why I accidently bumped into you guys."

Hearing N.S.'s depressed tone, Ruby tried to relieve her companion of their worries. "Cheer up, okay? Everyone already forgave you and no one's blaming you for what happened." When her pleading didn't work, Ruby pressed on. "Come on, N.S.! Please? For me?"

Not wanting to upset the girl anymore, N.S. slowly nodded. "Al-alright." A small smile appeared on their face, an attempt to show they had agreed with her. Relieved that she had managed to bring N.S. out of their depressed state, Ruby brought her left arm straight up, a grin stretched as wide as can be.

"That's the spirit! Now let's get going!" She pulled on N.S.'s arm and dragged them to their designated destination, completely oblivious to N.S.'s protests.

* * *

"Say," Ruby suddenly asked once they entered the armory. "What's your weapon like anyway? I mean, I don't really see it on you, so I'm guessing it's something really small?"

N.S. squirmed uncomfortably when hearing the question regarding their weapons. The question was bound to come up at some point, considering how much of a weapon frantic Ruby was.

It didn't make things easier, though. Especially since Ruby was giving them the puppy eyes now.

"W-well, I wouldn't blame you for not finding it, since it's underneath my coat." N.S. fumbled around a bit, in search for their weapons. "Um, give me a second, ok?"

Ruby gave a confused look at the question, but nevertheless conceded and waited patiently for N.S. Soon enough, N.S. retrieved their weapons and gave them to Ruby to look at. "So...what do you think about them?"

The weapons N.S. had given to Ruby were interesting, to say the least.

At first, she thought they were ordinary pistols. Perhaps infused with dust chambers to enhance their firepower. She saw many of these designs during her many browsing sprees in downtown Vale.

However, N.S.'s design was a bit...different.

Contrary to the usual tiny pistol size, N.S.'s weapons were the size of a football, perhaps almost even weighing the same. In addition, multiple rings were attached to the tips of the pistols, forming the shape of a halo. And to top it all off, the emblem of what appeared to be a magnifying glass was placed on the side of the weapons.

"They...look like ray guns." Ruby responded back, a bit baffled at the design and structure of N.S.'s weapons. "Did you design them yourself?"

For the first time during the entire trip, N.S. flashed a wide smile and nodded confidently. "Yep! I designed them all by myself! It took a bit of time, but it was worth the work and effort!"

"...They look pretty cool. But," Ruby couldn't help asking at this point: her curiosity got the better of her. "Aren't these the ones shown on those tv shows? You know, the ones with the heroes going after the bad guys and stuff like that?"

N.S. blinked once. Then twice.

A moment of silence passed.

…

N.S. slowly staggered towards the corner of the store and curled into a tiny ball, a shadow passing over their head.

"...Everyone keeps on calling them that...They're not toy weapons...Why do they keep on calling them toys?"

Ruby blinked once at the sight. Then twice to check if she was still awake.

And finally realized what had happened.

"Th-that's not what I meant!" Ruby scrambled to comfort her friend, her voice as apologetic as possible. "I just thought they looked like those and-oh god, please don't be sad N.S.!"

"J-Just don't say that again, okay?" N.S. mumbled back quickly, retrieving their weapons and picking up the remaining bags. "I need to go ask the shopkeeper about the repairs, so can you wait for me? I-I promise I'll be quick!"

Ruby eagerly agreed, content they were able to steer clear from the touchy subject. "Of course! I have my own things to buy, so I'm not going anywhere! I'll wait for you by the exit!"

N.S. nodded, and hurried towards the shopkeeper's counter. Now that she helped her friend, Ruby could finally focus on what she came for.

"Let's see..." Ruby's eyes searched the shelves for what she needed. "It should be somewhere around here…"

A few moments later, she picked out the packages. "Oh! There's the ammo I need!" Humming gleefully to herself, she took a few packages. "Hmm. I should probably buy a few extra packages, just in case."

However, before she could pick out a few more packages, a tap on her shoulder caused her to turn around, meeting her face to face with a cloaked figure.

A rather tall cloaked figure, to say the least.

"Um...can I help you, sir?"

The figure merely stared back at her, no intention of responding back.

"Sir?"

This time, he reacted to her question, reaching inside his cloak and presenting a letter to Ruby.

"...A letter?" Ruby openly asked, to which the figure pointed at N.S., who at this moment was still making the final purchases to their weapons.

"Oh! Is this for N.S.?" The figure nodded, prompting Ruby to ask a question."You...want me to give this to her?"

When she received another nod as her answer, she shrugged. Might as well accept the figure's request. "Well...I'll give it a try." She turned towards N.S., only to remember one important detail. "Um, can you give me your name sir? I'm sure N.S. would like to know who gave this to-"

She found herself talking to a wall.

"...He's gone..." Strange. She was sure he was there a few seconds ago.

"R-Ruby! We can leave now!" N.S.'s voice shook her out of her thoughts as they approached to their side.

"Just give me a sec, okay? I still need to pay for these." The nod she received meant that they understood, and no sooner after she paid for her ammo, the pair exited the armory, both satisfied with their purchases.

"By the way," Ruby reached into her pocket and presented the letter to N.S., "Some guy gave me a letter addressed to you. Do you recognize the writing?"

N.S. gave a curious glance, but nonetheless accepted the letter from Ruby. As they opened it, Ruby stood back, wanting to ask what the letter was about. After all, the letter must have been really important if the sender had spent this much effort in delivering the letter to them.

It was both amazing and shocking as to how quickly N.S.'s persona changed.

Gone was the curious expression on their face, only to be replaced by a look of shock and bewilderment. Gone was the usual shaking emitted from N.S., only to be replaced by a rigid stance. Gone was the look of innocence, only to be replaced by a look of authority and solemnity.

This wasn't the N.S. she first met, was it?

"N.S.?"

"...It's nothing." N.S. shook their head, pocketing the letter into one of their coat pockets. "We should leave this place."

"...N.S.?" Ruby repeated, apparent concern in her voice.

"I-I'm fine, Ruby. You still have to show me all those places you mentioned before, right?" N.S. gave a strained smile, a silent plea for them to continue with their trip.

"Alright..." Still worried about her friend and their sudden reaction, Ruby decided to go along with their suggestion and began to show N.S. around downtown Vale. Soon, the two of them were enjoying their trip through downtown Vale, the event with the letter long forgotten.

Had Ruby been more attentive, however, she would have noticed N.S. clench the sleeves of their coat with rigorous strength.

Or more importantly, the sudden change in the colour of N.S.'s eyes, from a shade of dark blue to golden yellow.

* * *

"You're leaving already?" Ruby whined, her eyes downcast with disappointment. N.S. gave an apologetic smile and shrugged helplessly.

It had been a few hours after their trip to the armory, the sun setting in the distance and the last bullheads returning back to Beacon. The rest of team RWBY had already finished their own shopping and returned to the docking area by the time Ruby and N.S. had arrived.

"Y-yeah. I have a few friends who are waiting for me, so I need to find them before they start worrying about me. S-Sorry..." N.S.'s apology made Ruby even more depressed. Why did all good things have to come to an end? Why couldn't things last forever?

"Aww..." An imaginary rain cloud floated above Ruby's head, matching her depressed state. "And we were having such a good time..."

In an attempt to cheer Ruby up, N.S. reassured the young girl, "I-I'm sure we'll see each other in the future, Ruby!"

But before N.S. could add anything else to cheer Ruby up, an announcement could be heard, mentioning the bullhead that team RWBY had been waiting for was about to take off. "There's our call girls! We better hurry before they leave without us!" Yang notified her friends, in which they nodded their heads, packed their things, gave N.S. their farewells, and left for the bullhead.

Well, all except Ruby who was still staring at the ground, remaining downcast.

N.S. frowned at this. They understood that the girl didn't want her to go, but shouldn't she at least make sure she wasn't being a burden to her teammates? She began to point this out, but was startled when there was a flurry of movement and a slip of paper placed loosely in their grasp. "Here's my scroll number! Promise you'll give me a call later, okay?" Ruby pleaded, her eyes pleading for N.S. to take the piece of paper with her.

Normally, N.S. would be reluctant to accept such a thing from others. But considering the desperate look from Ruby, it didn't seem like the girl would take a no as an answer. "O-okay." N.S. nodded as they took the slip of paper from Ruby, earning an earnest grin from the girl.

"Ruby! The bullhead's gonna leave without you!" Yang's voice could be heard in the distance, and a figure at the entrance of the bullhead gestured for the girl to hurry up.

"Shoot!" Activating her semblance, Ruby ran to the bullhead. Before entering the aircraft, Ruby looked behind her and shouted, "See you later, N.S.!"

N.S. waved at Ruby, a small smile appearing on their face. "I-I'll see you all soon...hopefully." The group of girls were all good people, people N.S. could come to admire in the future.

Once the bullhead was no more than a speck in the sky however, the cheerful smile on N.S.'s face quickly disappeared, replaced by a solemn look.

"...Why would **he** send us a letter?" N.S. carefully inspected the letter by rotating it in all directions, looking for any hints that the letter was a trap. Considering that it was sent by **him** of all people, the outcome of his intentions was looking grim.

"...I should contact them soon. They need to be notified about this." N.S. concluded after being unable to find any evidence that the letter had been tampered with. After pocketing the letter in their coat, N.S. took a deep breath and prepared their departure towards their master's location.

* * *

"Shit! What do we do now, Rei?"

"Why do you ask such an obvious question? You attacked first. You must pay the consequences for your actions."

"We were supposed to be notified about this shit! How could they leave this out?!"

"Nevertheless, we must eliminate the obstacles."

"But they're witnesses! We can't just leave them alone!"

"Indeed. A shame it had to come to this. I would have preferred it we were to resort to...less violent methods."

"...You know what to do."

"..."

" **...Tell me...children...Will...you...** "

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

"..."

" **...DIE FOR ME?** "


	8. Archive1: The Crimson Shadow

**Decided to write a quick passage for A Simple Spectator, similar to the one I wrote for Regret, Rebirth, and Reclaim. Just like that one, it is not necessary to read to understand future chapters, but it would be ideal to keep this passage in mind.**

 **Alright. Not gonna waste anymore time, so let's get started.**

 **And 3...2...1...go.**

* * *

 **Archive#1: The Crimson Shadow**

Have you heard about the Crimson Shadow?

It's a common story around here. Well, more of a legend these days, actually. Not many people remember the exact details, but I don't blame them. These kind of stories always change throughout time, so they're always different when people try to retell the story.

But enough of that. I'm sure you're anxious to know about why this story is so special.

Rest assured, it doesn't start off with a sappy, "Once upon a time, in a land far, far away..." Those beginnings always sound so unbelievable for some reason…

Sigh...Stop pouting already. Just because you like them so much doesn't mean everyone else does.

Anyways, back on topic. This story focuses on a human being, one whose name was not recorded and remains unknown to this day. They were created by the gods of its world, given shape and appearance through mere thoughts alone. As they came to, they had been bestowed with a specific room.

That role...was to act as the spectator.

Granted, extraordinary power beyond one's imagination, the human being soon became their champion, a powerful warrior who would serve the balance between justice and villanry. They made sure that everything would be balanced, no matter which side would be tipping the scale. They acted neutral, remained neutral, and believed that being neutral was the only method humans could continue to survive.

You may ask, "Why did they only choose to spectate? If they had this much power, this much strength at their disposal, why not use it to their advantage? Why not display this extraordinary power that the gods had oh so generously bestowed?"

The answer? It was because it had been their decision to place a restriction on their strength, only using their full strength when it came to the most desperate of situations. They despised the idea of having this much power in their hands, and decided to place themselves in a position en par with the people he was looking over.

You...laugh at this. Why?

…

Well, I do suppose that is a valid point. I cannot argue that it had not been a possible outcome of their decision.

However, we all know that power is a dangerous force which must be kept in check at all times. Should it be let unsupervised, the worst fates await us in the future, a result from the consequences power holds. This is why even the strongest warriors fall as the strength they relied on consume them, destroying them from the inside.

Back to the story now, this hero continued to work the role they were given. Time in time, they continued to spectate, to watch over the people they were assigned to keep track of. If an unexpected war broke out, they would be there to order a ceasefire between the two parties. If peace lasted too long, they would ensure chaos would break out amongst the humans. If various nations began to start a revolution against an empire, they would make sure they were wiped off the face of their planet.

If the gods decreed it necessary, they followed with no hesitation, no second thought of disobeying their commands. The gods used them as a weapon, a servant to carry out their duties, and they accepted this with ease.

Time passed, and the gods were proud of their champion. The amount of work completed to keep humanity in balance, the effort and time put in to ensure the world remained in a neutral state: it had impressed the gods as they continued to watch from afar.

But as time passes, things begin to change. It is an universal law that exists everywhere, one which is unaffected by time and space themselves.

Just like many other heroes, they too began to stray from their ideal path. Wavering thoughts started to fill their mind, and they began to question the role given to them by the gods. They asked, "Why only spectating? Why I can't I use this power to enforce this neutrality the gods wish to keep? Would I produce better results this way, results that would no doubt astound the gods themselves and bring the world in perfect balance?"

Most importantly, was there a possibility they could teach others to take on the role as the spectator? An apprentice, perhaps? Or even, an entire guild if enough people were properly taught and trained?

They wanted to satisfy the gods, to ensure they received what they wanted. And so, they proposed a suggestion to the gods: allow the full usage of their strength to enforce the balance in the world.

At first, the mere idea sent the gods into an outrage. Their champion, the being they had given life to, dare question their laws?! The being who had been instructed to watch over humanity dares to question their role of overviewing the humans?!

But in time, they too became curious of what would happen if humanity was given certain laws to follow. What would the outcome of this be? Would this lead to everlasting peace or endless chaos? Would this turn out to be a beneficial advantage or a futile liability?

In the end, they came to a decision and granted their champion the authority to enforce the balance onto the humans. In doing so, they removed one of the restrictions on their strength.

What happened next was a disaster.

The moment they received their powers back, something immediately consumed their mind. They felt the feeling of their full strength returning, but something else changed inside of them as well.

That "something" was their emotions.

Anger and irritation suddenly boiled in their blood, clouding their mind of any kind of rational thinking. "Why," they asked, "Should I alone be forced to bear this burden while others were allowed to choose their own fates without the consent of others? Why did I alone need to act as the gods' personal tool, enduring all the hardships that came with the role, when others could surely fit the role perfectly well?

Their previous intentions of impressing the gods long forgotten, the champion wasted no time in unleashing their strength at their creators, focusing all their power in attacking them directly head on.

Needless to say, the gods were surprised by their champion's outburst and did their best to contain the overflowing power. It had been a challenge in doing so, mostly due to their champion's sudden stubborn perseverance in trying to destroy them. This resulted in what seemed to be an endless battle between the two combatants, and neither were keen on losing the fight.

Luckily, after what seemed like endless violence and bloodshed, the gods managed to overcome their champion's strength and subdued them, quickly placing the restrictions back on. This reverted the champion to their former state, along with no memories of the past battle they had with their creators.

Sadly, a price had to be paid after the sequence of events, a price which the gods together agree must immediately be dealt with. And so, with great reluctance, they reforged the restrictions on their champion's strength, strengthening it to a point where not even the gods would be able to remove it. They had to make sure a repetition of their battle would never occur, else destruction was certain to follow.

They received what they wanted, but as I mentioned before, it came at a great price for their champion. What their champion became in the end was nothing more but a-

…

I apologize. I do believe that is all the time we have today. Hopefully, I will be able to tell you the rest of the story some other time. For now however, I believe I must attend a matter of great importance which requires my utmost attention.

...

I'm sorry? You wish to ask me something?

…

What's the moral of this story?

…

Hmm...I do not believe this story really comes with a moral. It is, after all, a simple legend, even a myth. Though if I were to guess what the moral would be…

…

…

…

 **It would be that even the strongest of us will fall prey to the simplest of things.**


End file.
